5-Day Myanmar Highlights

Meet on arrival at Yangon International Airport and transfer to hotel. (Your room might not be ready for check-in; international check-in time is 14:00 hours)
Start your sightseeing with a drive to the famous Strand Road and visit the bustling Yangon harbour, where ferries leave for Pathein in the Delta and upcountry towns along the Ayeyarwady River. Visit Botathaung Pagoda, close to Yangon River and said to contain Buddha relics. You then drive through the colonial-historical district, Chinatown, and the Indian quarter. Make a photo stop at the gilded Sule Pagoda, dating back over 2,000 years, and a landmark in central Yangon. Lunch at Monsoon Restaruant.
In the afternoon, visit to Bogyoke (Scott) Market (closed on Mondays and Public Holidays) gives you the opportunity to see Myanmar's wide range of handicrafts and souvenirs. Stop alongside Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake to take photographs over the lake towards Karaweik Hall and the Shwedagon. Enjoy the sunset at Shwedagon Pagoda, famous worldwide - its golden stupa is the 'heart' of Buddhist Myanmar. The Pagoda is believed to be 2,500 years old and the central stupa in surrounded by dozens of intricately decorated buildings and statues. It is always full of people praying and making offerings, and is a fascinating place to spend time watching the world go by. Return to your hotel.
Accommodation at Hotel G (Good Room) or similar, Yangon.

Transfer to Yangon Airport for domestic flight to Bagan. Upon arrival in Bagan, proceed on a sightseeing tour, starting with the busy local market at Nyaung U. Continue with visits to a selection of the most important pagodas and temples such as Shwezigon, Bagan's most important reliquary shrine - look out for images of the 37 'nats' (spirits) housed in a small hall - and Gubyaukgyi (Wetkyi-Inn village), a 'cave' temple with fine frescoes of the 'Jataka Tales'. Next stop is Htilominlo, the last Bamar-style temple built in Bagan, which boasts old murals and friezes. Your visit continues to Ananda Temple, a masterpiece of Mon-style architecture with four huge standing Buddhas and an adjacent brick monastery with well-preserved 18th century murals. Stop for a photo of Bagan's tallest temple; 61 metre-high Thatbyinnyu, known as the 'temple of omniscience' and dating from 1144. Lunch at Ayeyarwaddy River Terrace Restaurant.
Next visit Moe Moe Lacquer ware factory where you'll learn how this delicate art is made. Sightseeing continues with visits to Manuha Temple, built in the Mon style in 1059; Nanpaya Temple, a unique sandstone monument said to have been the palace of King Manuha, and Gubyaukgyi (Myingaba) under the protection of UNESCO and noted for its ancient mural paintings. Enjoy sunset at one of the monuments along Ayeyarwady River.
Accommodation at Villa Bagan (Superior Room Without View) or similar, Bagan. (Period until 30 April 2019)
Accommodation at Villa Bagan (Superior Room With View) or similar, Bagan. (Period 01 May 2019 - 30 September 2019)

Transfer to Bagan Airport for domestic flight to Heho. Transfer from Heho airport down into the valley to Nyaungshwe on the edge of Inle Lake and board your own local boat to take you to your hotel (Room might not be ready for check-in).
Continue from your hotel and travel by long-tailed boat across the lake to Indaing, at the western end of Inle, for one of the most scenic trips on the Lake. Passing through the busy village of Ywama, the largest on the Lake, with many channels and tall teak houses on stilts; enter a long, often tree-lined canal, either side of which farmers cultivate their land against the backdrop of the Shan Hills. Disembark at the jetty and walk for 15 minutes through Indaing village to reach the 14th - 18th century pagoda ruins of Nyaung Ohak. Many pagodas here remain charmingly unrenovated, with plants and even small trees growing out of them, making the area very atmospheric. Lunch at Golden Kite Restaurant in Indaing.
A covered walkway popular with souvenir stallholders leads up to Shwe Inn Thein Paya, a complex of weather-beaten 17th - 18th century zedi; some newly reconstructed. Afterwards, continue by boat downstream past Yethar village, watching local life on the banks and birds in the trees until rejoining the Lake near Phaung Daw Oo Paya.
Accommodation at Inle Resort (Garden Cottage - Private Pond/Garden View) or similar, Inle Lake. (Period until 30 April 2019)
Accommodation at Myanmar Treasure Resort (2nd Row Deluxe Lake View) or similar, Inle Lake. (Period 01 May - 30 September 2019)

Explore a 5-day rotating market (if your visit coincides with the schedule) which offers an insight into the life of the ethnic Pa-O, Danu and Intha people who come to these markets to sell and buy goods. Enjoy a full day boat trip on Inle Lake - a photographer's dream. Its calm waters are dotted with floating vegetation and fishing canoes, to which scenic hills provide the perfect backdrop. See the lake's unique 'leg rowers' - Intha fishermen who row standing up with one leg wrapped around a single oar, leaving their hands free to manipulate the conical fishing net. Stop at Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest religious site in southern Shan State. Lunch at Green Chilli Restaurant.
Visit a traditional silk-weaving workshop which uses wooden handlooms, and a blacksmith's forge. Pass endless floating gardens, where Intha lake dwellers grow fruit and vegetables. Continue by boat to visit Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery, one of the oldest on the lake, where you can see exquisite Buddha statues which are more than 200 years old. Return to your hotel by boat as the sun lowers and the light softens over the lake.
Accommodation at Inle Resort (Garden Cottage - Private Pond/Garden View) or similar, Inle Lake. (Period until 30 April 2019)
Accommodation at Myanmar Treasure Resort (2nd Row Deluxe Lake View) or similar, Inle Lake. (Period 01 May - 30 September 2019)

Transfer by boat to Nyaung Shwe and then proceed to Heho Airport (25 km - 1 hour). Return domestic flight to Yangon.
Balance of the day at leisure to pursue individual interests. Lunch at Taing Yin Thar Restaurant. The Diethelm Travel guide and car remain at the clients' disposal for further sightseeing or shopping until transfer back to Yangon International Airport for departure flight.