6-Day Myanmar Upcountry Exploration: Join In

Pick up from your hotel in Yangon and transfer to Yangon Airport for domestic flight to Bagan. (approx. 06:20/07:40_direct) Upon arrival in Bagan, proceed on a sightseeing tour, starting with the busy local market and continuing with visits to a diverse selection of the most important pagodas and temples such as Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century. See 13th Century frescoes adorning the corridors of Kyansittha 'Cave' Temple. Continue to Gubyaukgyi (Wetkyi In village), another 'cave' temple with fine frescoes of the 'Jataka Tales'. Next stop is Htilominlo, the last Bamar style temple built in Bagan, with old murals and friezes. Visit the Taungphi village to see old monasteries, which have beautiful Khone Baung dynasty frescoes. Lunch at Ayeyarwaddy River Terrace Restaurant.
In the afternoon, continue visit to Ananda Temple, a whitewashed masterpiece of Mon architecture with four standing Buddhas, and the adjacent brick monastery from the early Bagan era with well-preserved murals. Make a photo stop at the tallest temple measuring 61 meters - Thatbyinnyu known as 'temple of omniscience' and dating from 1144. Continue to Mingalazedi, the last of the large Pagodas built in the 13th century, representing the pinnacle of Bamar pagoda architecture. Enjoy sunset at one of the monuments along Ayeyarwady River.
Accommodation at Hotel, Bagan

Hotels featured: (or similar)
Superior Category (3*): Shwe Yee Pwint Hotel (Bagan Room) (Period until 30 September 2018)
Superior Category (3*): Villa Bagan (Superior Room Without View) (Period 01 October 2018 - 30 April 2019)
Deluxe Category (4*): The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate (Deluxe Room)

Transfer to Bagan Airport for domestic flight to Mandalay. (approx. 08:15/08:45_direct) Enjoy a comprehensive tour of Mandalay, a highlight of which is the Mahamuni Pagoda, home to a spectacular Buddha image covered with thick layers of gold leaves. Near the river lies visit Shwe-im-bin, a wooden monastery over 100 years' old which is known for its lovely carving. Stop at local workshops to see kalaga tapestries being made, gold leaf being beaten into paper-thin pieces, stone carving and bronze casting. Lunch at Daung Lan Gyi Restaurant.
Mid-afternoon, you'll drive to Kuthodaw Pagoda, where the Theravada Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble slabs, giving rise to its nickname 'the world's largest book'. Next visit beautiful teak-carved Shwenandaw Monastery, the only Royal Palace building to survive World War II bombing. At Kyaukdawgyi Pagoda you'll see a large Buddha statue carved out of a single block of local marble. Atop Mandalay Hill lie glittering glass-studded temple walls which reflect the evening glow as you watch the sunset. Afterwards, visit Shwe Kyin Monastery to observe student monks start their evening prayers.
Accommodation at Hotel, Mandalay

Hotels featured: (or similar)
Superior Category (3*): Shwe Ingyinn Hotel (Superior Room) (Period until 30 September 2018)
Superior Category (3*): Hotel Sakura Princess (Superior Room) (Period 01 October 2018 - 30 April 2019)
Deluxe Category (4*): Mandalay Hill Resort (Superior Palace View)

Pick up at your hotel and transfer to the jetty. En route, stop at the Zeycho vegetable market. Board your boat and travel upstream on the Ayeyarwady River from Mandalay to Mingun (11 km, about one hour). The river is always busy - small long-tail boats, bamboo rafts and ferries carry goods up and down the river. Visit the Mingun Bell, which at 87 tons is the world's largest intact bronze bell. Continue to the beautiful Hsinbyume (Ma Thein Tan) Paya and the unfinished, mighty Mingun Pagoda (built to be the world's biggest) before returning downriver to Mandalay. Lunch at 62 Mandalay Restaurant.
From Mandalay, drive towards to the third former capital, Amarapura. Proceed to the impressive wooden monastery of Bagaya Kyaung. Take a sunset stroll on U Bein Bridge, which at over a kilometre is believed to be the longest teak bridge in the world. Return to your hotel in Mandalay.
Accommodation at Hotel, Mandalay

Hotels featured: (or similar)
Superior Category (3*): Shwe Ingyinn Hotel (Superior Room) (Period until 30 September 2018)
Superior Category (3*): Hotel Sakura Princess (Superior Room) (Period 01 October 2018 - 30 April 2019)
Deluxe Category (4*): Mandalay Hill Resort (Superior Palace View)

Transfer to Mandalay Airport for domestic flight to Heho. (approx. 08:40/09:10 _direct) Transfer from Heho airport by private vehicle down into the valley to Nyaungshwe on the edge of Inle Lake, and board your private local boat to take you to your hotel. Inle Lake is simply magical. At 1000 metres elevation, the temperatures are pleasant, and the calm waters are dotted with Intha stilt house villages, floating vegetable gardens and fishing canoes, set against the back drop of the beautiful Shan hills. Motorised boats are the means of transport across the lake, although the Intha people get around in traditional flat bottomed boats using a unique and skilful form of leg rowing. Lunch at Golden Kite Indaing Restaurant.
In the afternoon, we enjoy a boat tour to Indaing, at the western end of the lake. Pass through the busy village of Ywama, the largest, with many channels and tall teak houses on stilts; and enter a long, often tree-lined canal, either side of which farmers cultivate their land. 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. 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. Return to the boat jetty with a leisurely 'nature walk' through the trees, and travel back across the lake to your hotel.
Accommodation at Hotel, Inle Lake

Hotels featured: (or similar)
Superior Category (3*): Paradise Nyaung Shwe (Deluxe Building Room) (Period until 30 September 2018)
Superior Category (3*): Nyaung Shwe City Hotel (Deluxe Room) (Period 01 October 2018 - 30 April 2019)
Deluxe Category (4*): Sanctum Inle Resort (Cloister Deluxe)

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 Mr Toe's Restaurant.
Visit Mya Set Kyar 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 for the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Accommodation at Hotel, Inle Lake

Hotels featured: (or similar)
Superior Category (3*): Paradise Nyaung Shwe (Deluxe Building Room) (Period until 30 September 2018)
Superior Category (3*): Nyaung Shwe City Hotel (Deluxe Room) (Period 01 October 2018 - 30 April 2019)
Deluxe Category (4*): Sanctum Inle Resort (Cloister Deluxe)

In the morning, transfer to Heho airport for your flight to Yangon. Upon arrival at Yangon, transfer to your hotel or connect to International departure flight.