Myanmar
Tribes, Temples, and Treasures
“This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about...” Rudyard Kipling
Myanmar is remote, exquisite, and a revelation to visit. Join a group or design a private trip to enjoy the treasures, history and culture of this ancient, picturesque country. The people of Myanmar are warm, gracious, smart, humorous, and amazingly resilient. Please give us a call for more details about this trip or to design a custom trip. For inspiration, see the Myanmar Photo Album and for detailed lists of restaurants, shops, hotels, see the Myanmar Resource List.
Join Silk and Stones Travel for an immersion into unspoiled Myanmar through Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, and stunning Inle Lake.
Arrive in Bangkok from international flights for overnight before Yangon flight.
Day 1 Arrive Yangon - City Tour
Upon arrival in the morning from your international flights transfer to the hotel. Start with an orientation to Colonial downtown Yangon, the immense Chaukhtatkyi reclining Buddha, the landmark Shwedagone Pagoda, Bogyoke Aung San Market (Scott’s Market) and the Chinatown farmer’s market. Stop at the small shop on 13th street to start your appreciation of Myanmar’s superb lacquerware. End the day with a welcome reception and dinner at the hotel.
Day 02 Yangon to Bagan
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to airport for the morning flight to Bagan. Upon arrival, transfer to hotel for checkin. Visit the beautiful Ananda temple, the landmark Shwezigone temples in the morning. Relax over lunch at a riverside cafe. In the afternoon visit a lacquerware workshop for a tour of the complex lacquerware production. If time allows, visit unique Manuha and Nanpaya temples. End the afternoon with a horse cart or bicycle ride through villages to a temple for a panoramic view of the temple spires at sunset. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.
Day 03 Bagan Markets and Villages
After breakfast at the hotel, drive to the local market to see the produce, handicrafts, and the villagers bargaining for their purchases. Drive to Palm tree villages to learn about the harvesting of palm sugar and the candy making Observe the vaillage temples and their spiritual traditions. Return to Bagan in the afternoon for a private boat ride on the Irrawaddy River. 
Overnight at the Thiripyitsaya Sakura Hotel.
Day 04 Pandaw Irawaddy River Cruise
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Bagan Aye Yar hetty for embarkation. Start the upstream cruise to Mandalay. After lunch on board, stop for a visit to a typical rier village. Return to the boat for dinner on board. Overnight on the Pandaw Cruise (upper deck cabin)
Day 05 Continue Cruise to Mandalay
After breakfast on board, continue the cruise with a morning visit to Yandabo, another river village specializing in Pot-making, where the peace treaty of the First Angko Burmese war was signed on Feb 24, 1826. Moor overnight near the Ywar Thit Gyi or Pauk Myaing Pauk taw village, a few miles from the Ava Bridge. Lunch and dinner on board. Overnight on the Pandaw Cruise.
Day 06 Arrive Mandalay
After breakfast on board, disembark at Sagaing Jetty for a sightseeing visit to the ancient villages of Amarapura, Inwa and Sagain.
- a wooden monastery built of huge log of teak tree - Inwa
- Horse Cart ride in the village - Inwa
- Scenic U-Min-Thoun-Se Temple on Sagain Hill
- Visit to a Buddhist nunnary in Sagain
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-Silver smith work of art of Sagain.
Finish the day with sunset at the world longest teak bridge, U Bein in Amarapura.
Day 07 Mandalay City Tour
After breakfast at the hotel, visit Mandalay, starting with the landmark Mahamuni temple, the gold leaf pounding, embroidery, silk, and marble carving workshops. Have lunch at a traditional restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Golden Palace monastery, the temple of the world biggest book, and complete the day with sunset and panoramic view from the top of Mandalay Hill. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 08 Mandalay to Heho to Inle Lake
Day 09 Inle Lake Villages and markets
After breakfast boat through a canal to visit the traditional 5-day market of Lake Inle area, with tribal villagers in colorful dress. Enjoy a scenic trip up a narrow creek to the idyllic site of Indein with it’s 17th century ruins of pagodas in an “indiana Jones” type setting, a literal “forest” of spires, walking along trails in bamboo groves. Return to Inle Lake for relaxation, a meditation lesson or massage, and bird watching from your deck before dinner.
Day 10 Inle Lake to Heho to Yangon
Enjoy the morning at leisure for spa services or visiting villages. Transfer to airport for flight to Yangon.
Day 11 Trip Extensions or International Flights Home
Extend your experience with excursions to northern Thailand, Laos or Cambodia.
Silk and Stones Travel tours are designed for very small groups, using suppliers and partnerships with local providers, and with sensitivity to the unique environmental, ecological, and cultural opportunities in each country. Silk and Stones Travel brings the best of travel to unusual places with comfort, safety, and with cultural and environmental sensitivity. Click on the following to learn about the group tour itineraries, or to gain insights for designing private, custom trips.
For help designing a custom itinerary, please contact Silk and Stones Travel
For additional help planning your trip, please see Resources, Packing List, Application, and Terms and Conditions. For additional suggestions on Myanmar shops, restaurants, activities, check the Myanmar Resources page.
*Photo Courtesy of Beth Staudenmaier, 2009
Temple Spires in Bagan*
