General Information
Duration: 15 days/14 nights
Tour Route: Yangon – Bagan – Mt Popa – Mandalay – Mingun – Heho – Loikaw – Inle Lake – Yangon
Intended Travel Date: Available all the time
Start/End: Yangon/Yangon
Tour Type: Nature, Landscape, In-depth Cultural
Tour Highlights
- Explore Yangon – The former capital of Myanmar with parks, colonial buildings and the golden Shwedagon Pagoda
- Unlock the magical Bagan – The home to over 3,000 temples and Myanmar’s greatest architectural site
- Discover the cultural center of Myanmar – Mandalay which is home to the world’s longest teak bridge
- Indulge in the natural paradise of Inle Lake which is famous for the people who live on and around it, known as the ‘Intha’
- Sightseeing in Monywa – Located on the banks of the Chindwin River which serves as the main trade center between Myanmar and India
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Yangon Arrival
Day 2: Yangon City Tour
Day 3: Yangon – Sri Ksetra World Heritage Site
Day 4: Pyay – Yangon
Day 5: Yangon – Fly to Mandalay – Amarapura, Ava, Sagaing
Day 6: Mandalay City Tour
Day 7: Mandalay – Mingun Village
Day 8: Mandalay – Monywa
Day 9: Monywa – Pakokku – Bagan by Day Cruise
Day 10: Bagan – Temples Visit
Day 11: Bagan – Mt Popa
Day 12: Bagan – Fly to Heho – Kalaw
Day 13: Inle Lake Sightseeing
Day 14: Inle Lake – Indein Village – Fly back to Yangon
Day 15: Yangon Departure
Experience The Road to Myanmar Tour With:
- Guides: hand-picked best tour guides with deep knowledge, humor, and profession (English speaking guides, other languages upon request)
- Drivers: polite, friendly, responsible, reliable with many years of driving experience
- Vehicles: comfortable, spacious, air-conditioned, big window
- Meals: meals are arranged at local restaurants so you can taste authentic Burmese cuisine
- Accommodation: well-chosen hotels are listed below. Besides, various types of accommodation are available, from 5-star hotels, 4-star hotels in the best location, good value 3-star hotels, to boutique hotels reflect the style of the region
Please note that every element of the tour below can be tailored. Tell us your specific interest and we will be happy to make adjustments for you. This inquiry is totally free and you are under no obligation!
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Yangon Arrival
Mingalarbar! Welcome to Myanmar, the Golden Land of Asia. Today, your local guide from Go Myanmar Tours will meet you at the airport in the Arrivals Hall. Together with other group members who may be arriving at a similar time, you will transfer to your hotel and check-in.
Day 2: Yangon City Tour
After breakfast, you will start your Myanmar tour of Yangon at the Central Post Office, and then stroll down Strand Road and observe the locals going about their daily lives. Continue walking up Pansodan Street famous for some of Yangon’s most impressive colonial architecture dating from the mid-1800s before arriving at Mahabandoola Park where you can view the Sule Pagoda. Dating back to over 2500 years ago, the octagonal pagoda standing 44 meters tall is one of the prominent landmarks of the city.
Next visit City Hall and the High court. Later explore Mahabandoola Garden and the Bogyoke Market, a vast covered marketplace selling an array of handicrafts, food, jewelry, and clothing. Visit the National Museum, home to priceless ancient artifacts, and Karaweik Hall before watching the sunset at the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda located on top of Singuttara Hill, where many locals and Buddhists come to worship.
Day 3: Yangon – Sri Ksetra World Heritage Site
This morning, take a 6-hour drive to Pyay which is situated near the ancient capital of Sri Ksetra (Thayekhittaya). The town of Pyay flourished between the 5th and 9th centuries, and more recently extensive archaeological excavations have taken place.
After a visit to the local museum, travel by ox cart around the old city wall for approximately 2 hours. Visit Hmawzar village for around 30 minutes on foot to observe the life of the Burmese people and continue to the hotel.
Day 4: Pyay – Yangon
Visit Pyay central market, home to several ethnic minority populations. Then continue your visit to Shwe San Taw Pagoda. Situated on the banks of the Irrawaddy river, the Shwe San Taw pagoda is Pyay’s most prominent landmark at 88 meters tall. Later, enjoy the great views of the town and river from the viewing platform of the pagoda. Drive back to Yangon stopping at a local restaurant for lunch.
Day 5: Yangon – Fly to Mandalay – Amarapura & Sagaing
Transfer to the airport for your 1-hour and 20-minute flight to Mandalay. On arrival, visit Amarapura, home to a working monastery dating back to 1783, and U Bein Bridge, the longest teakwood bridge in the world. Later travel to Sagaing, a former Shan capital in the 14th century with many impressive stupas scattered on its hill.
Day 6: Mandalay City Tour
Start the day with a visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, which enshrines the Mahamuni Buddha Monastery – a highly revered image in Burma. It is covered in thick layers of gold leaf applied by male devotes. As a result, this has started to distort its shape.
After that, visit the Shwe Inbin Monastery and the Golden Palace Monastery, which is a superb example of a traditional wooden building. Stop at Kuthodaw Pagoda, the world’s largest book consisting of 729 marble slabs on which the entire Buddhist Canon is inscribed. Visit a traditional handloom silk workshop as well as a Kalaga tapestries craftsmen’s shop and continue on to Mandalay Hill. Today will be a full day of sightseeing predominantly on foot.
Day 7: Mandalay – Mingun Village
Take a short drive to the nearby jetty and board your boat on the Irrawaddy River; cruise for approximately 1 hour to Mingun where the world’s largest hanging bell is still on display. You will visit Mingun Pahtodawgyi – the largest unfinished pagoda in the world, Mingun Bell, and Hsinbyume Temple. Return to Mandalay for an afternoon at leisure.
Day 8: Mandalay – Monywa
Drive approximately 2 hours to Monywa stopping at the Thaboddhay Pagoda en route. This is a Buddhist temple home to 845 small stupas surrounding and rising up to the richly decorated central stupa. Take a stroll through the nearby banyan tree grove Bodhi Taung and marvel at the panoramic view from Aung Setkya Pagoda, standing 130m high on the Po Khaung hills. Continue to Monywa to check into your hotel.
Day 9: Monywa – Pakokku – Bagan by Day Cruise
This morning cross the Chindwin River with a short boat ride, and drive to the fascinating Po Win Daung Caves, a large complex of small sandstone caves containing many Buddha images and decorative wall paintings. Drive 3 hours to Pakokku, a port city set south of the Chindwin confluence, and visit a lively local market by traditional trishaw bicycle taxis. Continue approximately 2 hours by boat on the Irrawaddy River to Bagan arriving in time for sunset.
Day 10: Bagan – Temples Visit
Start your sightseeing tour with a visit to the colorful Nyaung U Market before exploring the pagodas of Htilominlo, a pagoda built in 1218, marking the spot where King Nantaungmya was chosen to be the crown prince.
After that, visit Shwezigon Pagoda – This beautiful pagoda was built by King Anawrahta in the 11th century to enshrine one of the four replicas of the Buddha’s tooth found in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Today it is considered Bagan’s main religious site rising from the earth in three separate terraces.
This afternoon explore some of the last of the remaining temples and visit a Lacquer workshop in the village of Myinkaba. Watch the sunset over this wondrous landscape from one of the many viewing points.
Day 11: Bagan – Mt Popa
Today drive 2 hours to Mt Popa. Formed by a volcano almost 250,000 years ago and a revered spiritual residence of the 37 ‘nats,’ worshipped in Burma in unison with Buddhism. There are a number of statues and shrines that represent these spirits. We will climb more than 750 steps to the nearby temple of Taung Kalat, set atop an extinct volcano and said to contain 37 spirits, also known as ‘nats’. Return to Bagan and take a horse cart, the local method of transport, to visit some villages, monasteries, and temples further afield.
Day 12: Bagan – Fly to Heho – Kalaw
Transfer to the airport for your 50-minute flight to Heho. On arrival, travel a further 2 hours by road to Pindaya and visit Shwe U Min Caves, a unique site housing thousands of Buddha images placed there by pilgrims over the centuries. After visiting a home-run umbrella and mulberry paper production business, continue to Kalaw – a scenic hill town for your overnight stay.
Day 13: Kalaw – Inle Lake Sightseeing
This morning drive 1 and half hours to Inle Lake – a water paradise which is inhabited by over 200 villages constructed on stilts. The lake is most famous for the extraordinary lives of the people who live on and around it, known as the ‘Intha’. Transfer by boat to your hotel to check-in. Begin your visit to the lake by long-tail boat, seeing the floating gardens and Intha fisherman.
Later visit Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, one of Burma’s most sacred shrines before admiring the collections of ancient Buddhas at Nga Phe Monastery. Witness a beautiful collection of Buddha images depicted in the Shan, Tibetan, Bagan, and Inwa styles displayed inside the expansive wooden meditation hall. Finally, visit the weaving village of Inpawkhon to learn more about lotus weaving.
Day 14: Inle Lake – Indein Village – Fly back to Yangon
Sightseeing today will be on the western shore of the lake at the Indein Pagoda complex. It is one of the amazing historical sites in Inle Lake, where hundreds of small stupas decorated with sculptures of mythological animals and beings lay overgrown by moss and vegetation. Take a leisurely walk along a creek, passing through rice fields to the village of Saema, and visit the village primary school.
Day 15: Yangon Departure
Any time before your flight is free at your leisure today. You will be transferred from the hotel to Yangon Airport for your onward flight. Trip ends. Thank you for making your 15-day trip with Go Myanmar Tours!
