13 Days Myanmar Exploration Tour

Upon arrival at the airport, meet with your guide with a welcome signboard and transfer to the hotel. 

Firstly you will be entertained by an interesting city circular train ride, then visit Chaukhtatkyi Pagoda with a 70-metres reclining Buddha statue.

Next stop is National Museum with extensive collection of ancient artifacts, art works and historic memorabilia on display in 14 halls in a splendid five-storey building.

Continue to tour Yangon and return to your hotel for a break. At 5:30PM, head to Great Shwedagone Pagoda, the most prominent monument in Yangon which dominates the sky with golden flash, giant spires and holy relics.

Mandalay is a record of how the imperial era was like back to the 19th century. After a morning flight and a break, we go to Mandalay's Mahamuni Pagoda, where the bronze Buddha statue is all yet monks and pilgrims are still applying gold layers everyday. 

Head to Golden Palace Monastery, famous for its intricate woodcarvings. Continue our tour to the world-known Kuthodaw Pagoda, holding the world's largest book carved Buddhism scriptures on 729 marble slabs.

Afternoon visit Mandalay Palace & Fort, which best portrays the golden days of Mandalay Kingdom. Later Shwenandaw Kyaung, a traditional wooden monastery, attracts your attention with carved panels telling the past-life stories of the Buddha. 

Finally we climb upon Mandalay Hill to taking in a panoramic view of the whole city, you might find yes sometimes prophecy does come true. 

Morning excursion to Amarapura, 11km from Mandalay, to visit Mahagandayon Monastery where more than a thousand monks live and study the Buddha scripture. If time permits, you will have the opportunity to observe the monks having their last meal of the day in total silence.

Then enjoy a boat tour across Ayeyarwaddy River nearly one hour. Wander around Mingun especially  for well-known Mingun Bell (90 tons in weight, the largest ringing bell in the world), unfinished huge Mingun Pagoda, Settawya Pagoda and Hsinbyume Pagoda. 

Then return to Mandalay and appreciate a beautiful sunset view with U Bein teak bridge, which is 162 years old.

Enjoy a 3-hour drive to Monywa, a typical Burmese town on the banks of the Chindwin River. Visit Thanboddhay Pagoda, a huge Buddhist temple covered with more than 500,000 Buddha images. Also stop at Boditahtaung Pagoda which houses the largest reclining Buddha image in Myanmar, at 100m long and 27m high.

This afternoon, cross the Chindwin River by ferry and proceed to Po Win Taung by local open-air jeeps. This extraordinary complex consists of 947 sandstone caves dug out of the hills and contains what is considered by archaeologists to be the richest collection of mural paintings and Buddhist statues in Southeast Asia.

On the way to Pakokku, you see the farmers, while they climb up the high palms in order to make palm sugars. They hold the possibility at the small village Ma U Ma Le and have more over the way of life and the lived culture of the land inhabitants to experience here.

In the later afternoon, reach Pakokku. In this small town many steeped in tradition arts and crafts enterprises reside, which woven covers, toys color-glad in manual work of stick Marché and typical Myanmar Joss Stick make. The way continues to lead you to the port of Pakkoku. Here you embark a typically engine boat and travel on the Ayeyarwady River completely relaxed approx. 2 hours until Bagan.

After arrival in Bagan in the afternoon, stay overnight there.

This day starts from the market in Nyaung U. Then hit Bagan with a diverse selection of the most important pagodas and temples, such as Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century as a religious shrine; the Wetkyiin Gu Byauk Gyi Temple, as well as the elegant Htilominlo temple, a temple with exquisite murals of Jataka scenes; the Ananda Temple, with four huge standing Buddha images and Ananda Okkyaung, a small red brick monastery, one of the few received plants is next door from the time of the early Bagan. At the inner walls are designs from that 18. Continue to famous Dhammayangyi Temple and Sula Mani Temples.

Afternoon visit Myinkaba village, famous for its lacquerware workshops and various interesting temples, eg. Nanphaya Temple, said to have once been the residence of King Manuha, and Gu Byauk Gyi Temple with very nice frescoes inside. Enjoy your soothing sunset at Shwesandaw Pagoda.

Upon arrival at Heho airport, you wil be escorted to Nyaung Shwe jetty , the gate way of Inle Lake, and take an engine boat to the hotel. Appreciate the floating gardens and observe the lifestyle of the local people in Inle Lake. Watch carefully and you can see boatmen paddle their craft with an oar using their foot. Then visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda and its 5 holy Buddha images.

In the afternoon, visit Inn Paw Khone weaving village and Floating gardens of Hydroponics system (especially tomato, others vegetables). Nga Phe Chaung Monastery, one of the most impressive of the many monasteries on the lake with its 150-200 pillars with elaborate wooden carvings. This monastery is also known as the “jumping cat monastery” where visitors are treated to a show that involves well-trained felines.

After breakfast, enjoy a morning exploration around the Inle lake and 5th day local market in the lake. Then go to Indein Village, the western end of the Lake. The boat takes you through a long channel where you watch the farmers cultivate their produce. This ride is one of the most scenic boat tours on Lake Inle.

After breakfast, drive to Pindaya, noted for its extensive limestone caves and picturesque lake. We will pass through the pa o and Danu villages of Pwehla endless fields of dry cultivated mountain rice and potato. Pindaya caves houses thousands of Buddha image placed there by pilgrimages over many centuries and paper making and umbrella making home cottage workshops.

Lunch will be served here at local restaurant. Enjoy sightseeing and shopping in Pindaya and you will see the Shan people who own fair and soft skin. After that, proceed to Kalaw about 2 hours where a small hill station town and has English cottages that remain in good repair, some converted into cozy guest houses. 

Arrive to hotel evening and take a rest. Stay overnight in Kalaw.

After the breakfast in the hotel, transfer to the airport for the flight after Thandwe. Arrival Thandwe and transfer to your hotel arrangement by your hotel in the Ngapali. Have a rest and stay overnight at Hotel in Ngapali Beach.

The next two days are to you at the free disposal.