Myanmar Full Experience with Kalaw Adventure

Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival, Yangon

  Upon arrival, your guide will wait for you at Yangon International Airport and escort you to the hotel for checking in. After a short rest, head for Sule Pagoda with a history of over 2,000 years. Visit Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple afterwards and you will enjoy the marvelous recumbent Buddha and architecture. Later, go on to the Kandawgyi Lake by a royal floating barge. This artificial lake built by the British as a reservoir is an ideal place for an early-morning jog or stroll.

  In the afternoon, you will move towards the Shwedagon Pagoda gleaming in gold and decorated with gems, Yangon's most famous landmark and the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar.

  • Yangon

• Day 2: Yangon - Bago - Golden Rock

  This morning, take a 1.5 hours' drive to Bago and then walk across a local market leisurely before going to admire the giant reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha. Continue with a visit to Myanmar's tallest pagoda named Shwemawdaw Pagoda and explore Kyaik Pun Pagoda.

  In the afternoon, drive for about 3.5 hours to Kimpun Village for the breathtaking Kyaithiyo Pagoda (the Golden Rock) built on the top of a granite boulder and covered with gold leaves.

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  • Golden Rock

• Day 3: Golden Rock - Yangon

  In the morning, enjoy taking some pictures from a distance to get different views of the Golden Rock. Drive back to Yangon for about 5.5 hours. En route, make a stopover at the Taukkyan War Cemetery where over 6,000 soldiers losing their lives in the World War II were buried. After arriving in Yangon, just enjoy the rest of the day to relax on your own.

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  • Yangon

• Day 4: Yangon - Heho - Pindaya

  Today, you will fly to Heho and then continue a 1 hour's drive to Pindaya. Have a pleasant 45 minutes' walk before reaching the Pindaya Caves. The cave is a Buddhist pilgrimage site and a tourist attraction located on a limestone ridge, known for its interior which contains over 8,000 images of Buddha. Later, have a glimpse of the process of Shan traditional paper making nearby.

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  • Pindaya

• Day 5: Pindaya - Kalaw

  After breakfast, leave for Kalaw and take a transfer to Magwe Elephant Camp to stay together with elephants and know more about their living habits. You can bath them in the river and feed them for a great experience. Later, take an exploration of the forest area and you will have a chance to see various butterflies, birds and orchids around the conservation area. It is highly recommended to plant regional trees from the nursery for efforts to recover forests. Later, get back to the camp to have a spectacular view of the valley before driving back to the hotel.

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  • Kalaw

• Day 6: Kalaw

  Your 3-day trekking starts today, during which you can get a first-hand experience of mountain villagers' life in the mountains between Kalaw and Inle Lake. Firstly, arrive at Lu Pin Village inhabited by the Danu tribe. Go on the itinerary to Shar Pin Village and Pann Lone Pagoda Hill before a picnic lunch. Later, continue trekking to Linn Pan Village where the Pa O minority inhabits. Proceed with the plan to get to NantThaleThe Village. Before passing through the villages, visit Thein Taung Pagoda Monastery, Aung Chan Tha Pagoda, Sutaungpyae Pagoda and the King Church.

  This evening, you will have the chance to stay with monks or a local family. Kindly note that accommodation in the mountain is very simple with basic amenity.

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  • Kalaw

• Day 7: Kalaw

  Today is the second trekking day. You will walk pass several villages and old wooden monasteries of Shan State. After a short break at Htun Gone Village, continue trekking through a stunning area for the next 3.5 hours, where many farmers and hill tribes live in. You can visit the beautiful wooden HteeTaing Monastery which is also used as a school after reaching HteeThaing Village. Have an authentic dinner and stay overnight at a local family or a monastery.

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  • Kalaw

• Day 8: Inle Lake

  This morning, trek through different Pa O villages and you can take a panoramic view over the Inle Lake after 3 hours. Have a break at Than Taung Village and have lunch at a monastery. Transfer to the hotel by a motorboat after arriving at the lake. On the way, you'll visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda near the west end of the Inle Lake. The pagoda is the most highly revered monastery housing five ancient images of the Buddha that are completely covered in gold leaf. Later, go toward a cheroot factory to explore local crafts and classic Myanmar cigars.

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  • Inle Lake

• Day 9: Inle Lake - Indein - Inle Lake

  After breakfast, take a boat to Indein Village, a small village connected with Inle Lake just after the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. A Buddha image has enshrined at a whitewashed stupa in the village. One could feel the pleasant cool breeze with the sweet rings of the bells hanging at the umbrella of the stupa.

  In the afternoon, explore a boat-making factory, local blacksmiths workshops and some incredible floating gardens in the village.

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  • Inle Lake

• Day 10: Inle Lake - Heho - Mandalay

  In the morning, move to Nyaung Shawe Jetty by boat, and then transfer to Heho for a flight to Mandalay. In the afternoon, visit the Kuthodaw Pagoda well known as the world's largest book. The next site is Shwenandaw Monastery or Golden Palace Monastery. Later, head to the northeast of the city center of Mandalay where Mandalay Hill sits. The top of the hill offers a wonderful view out over Mandalay City to the south.

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  • Mandalay

• Day 11: Mandalay

  Start today's tour with a visit to Amarapura, a former capital bounded by the Irrawaddy River in the west. And then attend the daily meal with over a thousand monks at Mahagandayon Monastery. Later, you will head for Inwa to visit the old wooden Bagaya Monastery, the Maha Aung Mye Bonzan Monastery and Htihlaing Shin Paya Pagoda.

  In the afternoon, you will go across the Irrawaddy River from the bridge and take in the view from Sagaing Hill. A great time to visit U Bein Bridge is just after sunrise when hundreds of villagers and monks commute back and forth across it.

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  • Mandalay

• Day 12: Mandalay- Bagan

  Today, explore the Mahamuni Buddha Temple which is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Burma and houses the Mahamuni Buddha image.

  This afternoon, visit the Mandalay Palace and Fort with all buildings of the palace are of one storey in height. After that, leave for the airport to catch your flight to Bagan. Your guide will pick you up and take you to the hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

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  • Bagan

• Day 13: Bagan

  This morning, leave for Nyaung Oo Market and proceed to the Shwezigon Pagoda, whose most noticeable part is the huge gold-plated pagoda glimmering in the sun. Later, visit Htilominlo Temple, Thatbyinnyu Temple and Ananda Temple.

  In the afternoon, visit a lacquer-ware workshop, Manuha Temple and Nanpaya Temple. The following site is Gubyaukgyi Temple in Indian style and the monument consists of a large shrine room attached to a smaller antechamber. Later, transfer to Dhammayangyi Temple, Bagan's most massive shrine. Later on, watch the sunset at one of the viewing mounds. 

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  • Bagan

• Day 14: Bagan

  Enjoy a free day in Bagan, a temple town and one of Myanmar's main attractions. It depends on you whether to have a good rest or stroll out for more adventures on your own.

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  • Bagan

• Day 15: Bagan - Yangon

  Tour the Minnanthu Village specializing in the production of sesame and peanut oil, and your guide will share some unknown facts about the village. Later, explore Payathonzu Temple, Lemyentha Temple, Nandamannya Pahto Temple and Nandamannya Cave Grotto. In the afternoon, you will take the flight back to Yangon.

  Optional: Ride a hot air balloon to have a bird's eye view of the world-famous archaeological site of Bagan's ancient kingdom on the plain in the morning at your own expense. It is a seasonal activity available from October through next March.

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  • Yangon

• Day 16: Departure

  In the morning, have a leisure walk at Bogyoke Aung San Market (formerly Scott's Market, closed on Mondays and public holidays) noted for its colonial architecture and inner cobblestone streets. The market has long been a centre for selling rare gems from Myanmar's mines, paintings and tailored fabrics from tiny workshops. Later, your guide will accompany you to the airport to fly home.

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