Route: Yangon – Golden Rock – Inle lake – Kakku – Taunggyi ballon festival – Mandalay – Cruise on Irrawaddy – Bagan – Shwezigon Festival – Yangon Robe weaving contest
Day 01: Yangon arrival
Day 02: Yangon – Golden Rock
Day 03: Golden Rock – Bago – Yangon
Day 04: Yangon – Pindaya sightseeing – Inle lake (Flight)
Day 05: Inle lake sightseeing
Day 06: Indein market & ruined temples
Day 07: Inle lake – Kakku – Taunggyi
Day 08: Taunggyi balloon festival or tour
Day 09: Taunggyi – Mandalay – city sighteeing (Flight)
Day 10: Mandalay – Cruise on Irrawaddy
Day 11: Cruise on Irrawaddy – Bagan arrival
Day 12: Balloon ride over Bagan – Shwezigon Festival
Day 13: Bagan – Yangon – Robe weaving contest (Flight)
Day 14: Yangon – Dala – circular train
Day 15: Yangon – departure
Inclusions:
Exclusions:
Upon arrival at Yangon airport meet by guide and transfer to hotel. Take rest in the hotel. Overnight in Yangon.
Meal: N/A
Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon
After morning, proceed to overland driving to Golden Rock. Arrive at pilgrim-village is a starting point to the famous Golden Rock. From our hotel in Kyaikhtiyo we take a truck to Golden Rock, and enjoy the sunset at the Golden Rock. The famous 'Golden Rock' is a sacred, massive gold-leafed boulder delicately balanced on the edge of a cliff near the top of Mt. Kyaingtiyo and it is one of the most revered Buddhist shrines.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Golden Rock
Early sunrise time, strolling around the hill sites for an unforgettable experience of Golden Rock then return to hotel for breakfast there. Continue your drive back to Yangon by car. On the way, visit to Bago, located only 80 km, was an ancient capital of Mon Kingdom in 15th century and enjoy the Bago sightseeing including Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha (55 metres long), Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Myo Ma Local Market, 28 meter high huge Buddha Image of Kyaikpun Pagoda, Chinese Kwanyin Temple and upon your interest, you can visit the Kanbawzathardi Palace of King Bayinnaung. Then drive back to Yangon. Arrival in Yangon, free time to discover the city by yourself.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon
Morning transfer to airport for a flight to Heho. Arriving in Heho, welcome by our local guide then drive to Pindaya to visit the fascinating Pindaya caves with more than 8,000 Buddha images. Later we get to know about the method the local people in Shan state make the umbrellas from cottage material.
In the late afternoon, transfer to Nyaung Shwe town then take a boat to your floating resort on Inle lake. Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Nyangshwe – Inle Lake
Excursion by boat on Inle Lake (including Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, Inn Paw Khon Village, Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery)
Inle Lake radiates the calm serenity of the Shan state, with persuasive still waters and colorful brush strokes of floating vegetation and slow moving fishing canoes most visitors never want to
leave this picturesque haven. Rolling high hills hug the lake on all sides as the lake's shore and islands host 17 villages on stilts, mostly inhabited by the Intha people. Enjoy the awe inspiring scenery and meditate on the one of a kind skill of the local fisherman who make use of their legs in this unique rowing technique to glide themselves peacefully around the lake. Visit the enchanting floating gardens, a teeming market and a peaceful Intha village around the lake. The day also includes a visit to the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, Inn Paw Khon Village (Lotus and silk weaving villages) and the Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Nyangshwe – Inle Lake
Excursion by boat on Inle Lake to Indein.
After breakfast at the hotel, visit floating market which is a 5day rotation market most fascinating to watch the daily life of the minorities and their activities. Continue our excursion by motorized boat to the western shore of the lake to a stairway leading to the hidden INDEIN temple complex. Located on the shore of the lake, this site consists of hundreds of small stupas overgrown by moss and greens.
Afternoon at leisure.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Nyangshwe – Inle Lake
After breakfast drive to Kakku (appr. 2 hours), in the deepest Pa-oh territory, 26 miles south of Taunggyi. There lie more than 2000 stupas in a site closely packed together in ranks covering an area of approximately a square kilometer apparently unknown to outside world. Kakku area is covered and scattered by Pa-oh villages especially stretching along on both sides of the main road from north to south. In the afternoon drive to Taunggyi.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Taunggyi
Transfer to airport for a morning flight to Heho in Shan State. Upon arrival drive through picturesque landscapes to Taunggyi (appr. 2 hours), the capital of Shan State. In the afternoon you have enough time to participate in the Balloon Festival.
About the Balloon festival and balloons: The Balloon festival is held only once a year after the end of the Buddhist Lent from 8-11 November. Traditionally it is a festival to pay homage to the Sulamani Pagoda in heaven by sending up decorated balloons. The paper balloons are 15-20 feet tall, decorated on the outside with colored cellophane lanterns. The lantern contain candles, forming different designs. A flame heats the air in the balloon which quickly ascend, carrying a 10-15 foot long tail, filled with various types of firecrackers that continuously light as the balloons ascend. Watch the making of the small children’s balloons, in the shapes of various animals and mythical creatures (if not there you can see this in ANY city in Myanmar!) and of course the Competition between individual villages for best decorated and high flying balloons. In the evening, ascend to the Sulamani Pagoda to watch the Balloon Festival and the religious activities at the Pagoda.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Taunggyi
Transfer to Heho airport for flight to Mandalay and transfers to Hotel (1 hrs) to Mandalay. After some rest visit Mandalay (including Mahamuni Paya, Shwen, Daw Kyaung, Kyauktawgyi Paya, Kuthodaw Paya, Shwe Kyin Old Monastery)
The last capital of royal Burma, Mandalay is still one of the largest cities in Myanmar, and a cultural and spiritual centre. Neighbouring Sagaing is home to over sixty per cent of the country's monks, while the artisans of Mandalay continue to turn out the finest crafts in Myanmar. Begin the tour at Mahamuni Paya. The Mahamuni image enshrined here is perhaps the most venerated image in Myanmar, covered in over 15 cm of gold leaf. Worshippers flock daily to the shrine at four in the morning to observe the unique face-washing ceremony. Afterwards, head to Shwenan Daw Kyaung, or the Golden Teak Monastery. Built entirely of golden teak, this intricately carved wooden monastery was once part of the Mandalay Palace, used as private apartments by King Mindon and his chief queen. Continue to Kyauktawgyi Paya, famous for its monumental seated Buddha, carved from a single block of marble. Visit Kuthodaw Paya, known also as "the world's biggest book". Around the central stupa are miniature pavilions, each housing a slab of marble numbering altogether 729, these slabs are inscribed with the entire Tripitkata, or Buddhist scriptures. The final stop is at Shwe Kyin Old Monastery, an old monastery at the base of Mandalay Hill which was built during the period of King Mindon.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Mandalay
After breakfast, transfer to Saggai Lay Kyun Man Aung Jetty to embark on Pandaw Cruise at 11:30. Welcome Cocktail in the Saloon. The cast off time is at 12.00 hrs. Lunch will be served at 13.00. Cruise all day. In the late afternoon, enjoy walking round the old colonial village of Sameikkon.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Overnight on Cruise
Early in the morning we proceed downriver to Bagan. Enjoy the sunrise near Bagan. Passengers disembark at Bagan Aye Yar jetty by 10.00 hrs.
Transfer to hotel for check in then explore Bagan- (including Shwezigon Paya, Gubyaukhyi Temple, Da Pahto, Gubyaukgyi Temple, Shwesandaw Paya, Lacquerware Workshop)
Bagan is a spectacular plain stretching away from the Ayeyarwaddy River, dotted with thousands of 800-year old temple ruins. Although human habitation at Bagan dates back almost to the beginning of the Christian era, Bagan only entered its golden period with the conquest of Thaton in 1057 Ad.
Shwezigon Paya: King Anawrahta started the construction of the Schwezigon Pagoda to enshrine some relicts of the Buddha. The construction was finished by his successor, King Kyansittha between 1086 and 1090. Originally the Shwezigon Pagoda marked the northern end of the city of Bagan. The stupa's graceful bell shape became a prototype for virtually all-later stupas throughout Myanmar.
Gubyaukhyi Temple at Wetkyi-Inn: This Temple was built in the early 13th Century and repaired in 1468. The great colourful painting about the previous lives of the Buddha and the distinguished architecture make this temple an interesting site for a visit. This temple is not to be confounded with the Gubyaukgyi Temple in Myinkabe.
AnanDa Pahto: one of the finest, largest, best preserved and most revered of the Bagan temples. Thought to have been built around 1105 by King Kyanzittha, this perfectly proportioned temple heralds the stylistic end of the Early Bagan period and the beginning of the Middle period.
Gubyaukgyi Temple at Myinkaba: Built in 1113 by Kyanzittha's son Rajakumar, this temple is famous for its well-preserved Stuccos from the 12th century on the outside walls. The magnificent paintings date from the original construction of the temple and are considered to be the oldest original paintings in Bagan.
Shwesandaw Paya: In 1057 King Anawrahta built this Pagoda following his conquest of Thaton. This is the first monument in Bagan, which features stairways leading up from the square bottom terraces to the round base of the Stupa.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan
Morning flight in a hot air balloons over Bagan.
The balloon flies every morning, softly leaving the ground just before sunrise; ensuring travellers get the very best view of this magnificent and spiritual area. Early in the morning before sunrise enjoy a pick you up from the hotel in one of a historic Land Rovers and travel to the chosen launch site of the day. Oriental Ballooning has secured some of the finest take off sites in Bagan ensuring that gusts will get the best views and an unforgettable experience during the flight. Total flight time is 45 minutes to one hour depending on the wind.
Late afternoon, enjoy a sunset cruise on Irrawaddy cruise.
In evening, visit Shwezigon Festival (That starts from November 11 – 14). There are evening entertainments such as Zats: (a variety of dances, songs, short and long plays), Anyeints (a performance of a few hours in which a number of "jokers" caricature current situations and or person strung together by a traditional dancer, popular movies shown in open air.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan
Free time until transfer to airport for a flight to Yangon. Arriving Yangon, transfer to hotel in city center.
In the late afternoon, visit the most outstanding monument in Yangon: Shwedagon Pagoda. This is a prominent historical site where you can enjoy panoramic view of the city and experience the local religion.
You will get much information about the local cultural, history, temples and pagoda from our tour guide.
Do not forget to bring your camera for sunset hunting from this pagoda.
Then enjoy robe weaving contest at Shwedagon pagoda. (That will be held from 04:30PM until 04:30AM)
Young women take part in competitions of weaving a robe for the Buddha statues, held on the platforms of the pagodas. They compete in making a robe that has to be finished flawlessly overnight and offer them at dawn to the images of Buddha around the Pagoda.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon
Excursion to Dala 4 hrs - Cross the Yangon River by local ferry, observing the morning activity on the jetty and along the shores. After reaching Dala, take a trishaw ride past the local fish market and past teashops, stopping briefly at a primary school. Visit the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda and a nearby monastery for a dose of local legend before returning to the jetty and returning back to Yangon and begin the day's tour at the colourful Hledan market, which is almost always bustling in the early hours of the morning. From there, embark on Yangon's circular train which weaves through Yangon's main townships and districts in a rough circle, this train is the lifeline for many of the working classes and offers an unparalleled insight into the lives of the Burmese. Observe the students and workers in their daily commute and the vendors and hawkers plying their trade.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon
After breakfast at hotel, free time until transfer to Yangon International airport for your return international departure flight. End of the services.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: N/A