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The trails and tracks of Myanmar (11 Days)
From: $0
Code: E-MACZZ0144
Tour Style: Active
Duration: 11 Days
Difficulty Comfort Exclusivity
Home » Myanmar » Active Tours » The trails and tracks of Myanmar (11 Days)

 

This tour is ideal for the active and adventurous and those who also enjoy really interacting with locals, and don’t mind roughing it for a couple of nights in more simple lodgings, local homestays or monasteries. We start from Yangon and take a walking tour around the old colonial quarter, and then marvel at the new developments, which are rising fast. From Yangon we fly to Shan state and visit the Pindaya region known for its impressive limestone cave filled with thousands of Buddha’s. Pindaya region also offers great hiking opportunities and we will do a 2-night trek from here, staying overnight in local villages. From Pindaya we continue to Inle Lake for boat and canoe excursions. After Inle Lake we fly from Heho to Mandalay and explore the ancient royal capitals around Mandalay by bicycle. Our last destination is Bagan where we take back roads and trails to explore most impressive temples and hidden villages.     

 

Brief Itinerary

 

Day 01: Yangon Highlights – Walking Tour

Day 02: Yangon – Pindaya Caves – Inle Lake

Day 03: Pindaya (trekking) – Yasakyi

Day 04: Yasakyi – Kanhla Kone village

Day 05: Kanhla Kone – Pindaya

Day 06: Inle Lake – Inn Thein

Day 07: Inle Lake – Ava (Inn Wa) – Mingun – Mandalay

Day 08: Cycle Mandalay Highlights

Day 09: Mandalay – Bagan

Day 10: Biking in Bagan

Day 11: Bagan – Yangon – Departure

Day 1: Yangon Highlights – Walking Tour
On arrival at Yangon international airport, you will be welcomed by your guide and transferred to your hotel. Today you visit the colonial-style city center of Yangon starting from one of the landmarks, the Sule Paya stupa built over 2,000 years ago. You continue to the quaint Old Quarter of Yangon, built during the British colonial era where many charming historical buildings can still be seen. During your stroll through the bustling market streets full of merchants and food stalls, you visit a local pharmacy and learn about Myanmar traditional medicine, stop for tea and a snack just as the locals do, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Yangon. You continue to one of Asia’s architectural landmarks, the elegant Strand Hotel built by the Sarkies brothers. Passing the old port buildings on Strand road we head to the lively Chinese and Indian quarters before reaching bustling Bogyoke (Scotts) Market, where hundreds of gemstone, handicrafts, art, clothes and food stores are tucked away in a maze of color. (Please note that the market is closed on Mondays and on public holidays). Late afternoon you complete the day with a sunset visit to one of the world’s most spectacular monuments, the Swedagon Pagoda, a gold covered bell dome structure that dominates the city’s skyline and is frequented by pious locals. The Swedagon is an iconic symbol of the country, a sight not to be missed. 

Meals included:  lunch, dinner

Overnight stay:  Yangon hotel


Day 2: Yangon – Pindaya Caves – Inle Lake
After breakfast you will be transfer to the airport for a flight to Heho, a quiet transit town with one of the few airport links in the beautiful hills of Shan State. You visit the bustling main Heho market, the meeting point for different ethnic minority groups from the surrounding area to trade handmade goods and locally grown produce (on market days only). En route to Kalaw, you stop at a local family workshop to learn how Shan umbrellas and paper are made by traditional methods using the fibres of the mulberry tree. You continue your 2-hour drive to Pindaya, a small town nestled by the Pindaya mountain range and the Shan plateau. After lunch you visit Pindaya Cave, unique in housing thousands of Buddha images donated by Buddhist devotees alongside caverns filled with numerous stalactite formations. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the town and mingle with the local minority people who come regularly from their remote villages to trade goods at Pindaya

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch in Nyaung Shwe, dinner at hotel  

Overnight stay:  in Pindaya.


Day 3: Pindaya (trekking) - Yasakyi
After breakfast at the hotel you drive to Yasakyi market to buy supplies for the trek, the last place to stock up for the trip. From the market you transfer to the starting point of your trek at the foot of a mountain range. Your trail follows a moderate climb, passing tea and vegetable plantations reaching Htut Ni village after approx. 1 hour trekking. You continue your ascent until you arrive at your lunch stop at Sekyi Inn village (1670 m) after around a 4-hour climb. Your guide and support team will prepare a cooked lunch at a local house. Later you get some insight into the Sekyi Inn livelihood; tea growing and bamboo basket weaving, and then you continue to climb over forested slopes and along the spine of the mountain range followed by our descent to Yasakyi village resting at the foot of the mountain range. In the afternoon you have some free time to explore Yasakyi, a Palaung minority village.

Trekking:                    Approximately 6-7hrs in total.          

Meals included:           Breakfast at hotel, lunch and dinner are cooked at local house by our staff.

Overnight stay:           In a local house. Sleeping facilities are local style. Simple mattresses on the floor with bed linen, pillows and blankets in a shared room. Personal mosquito nets are also provided.

 

Day 4: Yasakyi – Kanhla Kone village
After breakfast you continue to trek along small rural roads and footpaths following the slopes of the forest-covered mountain range passing through Lyin Lay Inn Danu village after 1 hour trekking and Mae Nae Taung Pao village 2 hours later. Your guide and support team will prepare a hot lunch at a local house. After lunch break you continue your descent for approx. 3 hours to your night stop at Kanhla Kone Village


Trekking:                    Approximately 6 hours in total.        

Meals included:           Simple breakfast at a monastery, lunch and dinner are cooked at local house by our staff.

Overnight stay:           In a monastery. Sleeping facilities are local style. Simple mattresses on floor with bed linen, pillows and blankets in a shared room. Personal mosquito nets are also provided.

  

Day 5: Kanhla Kone – Pindaya
After breakfast at the monastery your trail leads you from a forested region to farming lands. During our 3.5-hour descent to Pindaya you pass Htin Shee Kone and Taung Paw Gyi villages, Shan tea plantations and you also enjoy great views over the vast surrounding landscape. After lunch in Pindaya, you will be transfer to Inle Lake (2.5 hours). After checking into the hotel, you embark on an afternoon exploration of Inle Lake, populated with floating islands and gardens made from the naturally tangled roots of water hyacinth plants and reeds. Delight in the picturesque sights of fishermen who row while balanced on one leg, a technique indigenous to the Inn Thar minority group who do this only on Inle Lake.

 

Trekking:                    Approximately 3.5 hours in total.      

Meals included:           Breakfast at hotel, lunch in Pindaya in a local restaurant, dinner at hotel or local restaurant      

Overnight stay:           in a hotel built on stilts over the lake or on the shore  

 

Day 6: Inle Lake – Inn Thein (by boat)
After breakfast you journey out by boat, following the currents of a small river to reach the Inn Thein Pagoda Complex, a site that makes us feel as if you’ve stepped through a forgotten portal in time. To access the complex, you walk through verdant bamboo groves that open up to a field covered with the ancient pagodas constructed over 1,000 years ago. You boat back to the lake and visit Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, the home of some of the country’s most sacred Buddha statues covered in gold leaf by devout followers. You also make visits to the Inpawkhon weaving village to learn how local silk, linen and lotus fabrics are handmade and how local silversmiths skillfully craft beautiful decorative items using old traditional methods. As an extra treat, we stop at a house for Burmese cats built over the lake, where you see the preservation efforts and reintroduction of this rare pure breed of felines to Myanmar. You end our day with a magnificent sunset canoe ride with boatmen who gracefully navigate and row perched on one leg.

Biking:                         Rest day. No biking today.

Meals included:           Breakfast, lunch on the lake, dinner at hotel

Overnight stay:           in a hotel built on stilts over the lake or on the shore 

 

Day 7: Inle Lake – Ava (Inn Wa) – Mingun – Mandalay
After breakfast you will be transfer to Heho airport for a 1-hour flight to Mandalay, the last Royal Capital of Myanmar. Your biking journey starts from Mandalay airport. At first you ride 8 km along the quiet airport road before turning onto smaller unpaved roads leading to the ruins of the ancient capital cities and the Ava/Inn Wa kingdom situated on an island between Myint Nge and Ayeyarwaddy Rivers. You visit the Nan Myint Watch Tower, the last remaining structure of the palace compound in the heart of the area; the old Bagaya Monastery constructed entirely of teak wood well over 100 years ago and the beautiful yellow coloured decorative Maha Aung Mye Bonzan monastery. After lunch at Ava you cross the Myint Nge river by small ferry and ride across the bridge to the ancient capital of Sagaing, home to 6000-7000 Buddhist monks, nuns and novices, now one of the most important religious centers of Myanmar. From Sagaing you cycle North along the shores of Ayeyarwaddy River through rural farming communities to Mingun. The road is paved and has very light traffic and part of the journey takes you over gently rolling hills. In Mingun you make photo stops at the unfinished Mingun Pagoda, cracked by an earthquake and at the Mingun bronze bell before catching a 1-hour sunset cruise across the Ayeyarwaddy River to Mandalay. On arrival at Mandalay jetty you will be transfer to your hotel for check in.

Biking:                         60 km in total. From the airport to Ava around 30 km on flat terrain (first 10 km is paved); from Ava to Mingun 30 km is on paved roads; some rolling hills between Sagaing & Mingun. 

Meals included:           breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight stay:           Mandalay hotel

  

Day 8: Cycle Mandalay Highlights
In the morning you cycle to one of Mandalay’s popular teashops and join the locals for breakfast. From here you start your Mandalay exploration. your first stop is the lively Zegyo Market in the heart of the city where you take a stroll to experience some authentic local life. You continue to the jade market where blocks of raw jade are being traded and then you explore the artisan quarters, where some of the oldest craftsmanship is showcased dating back to the last kingdom of Myanmar. You observe the process of pounding gold leaf, detailing teakwood carvings and embroidering Myanmar tapestry. You also see how bronze and marble Buddha statues are carved, cast and molded. Next, you ride to visit the major highlights of the city: the sacred Mahamuni pagoda, housing one of the most significant Buddha images covered in several tons of gold leaf and the crown prize in wars between competing kingdoms; the Golden Palace Monastery, the sole surviving Royal Palace building in Mandalay, offering a glimpse of the original style and architecture of the Myanmar royals; and lastly a photo stop at the Kathodaw Pagoda, a compound housing Buddha’s teachings carved in the sacred Pali script on stone tablets and regarded the world’s largest book in terms of surface area. We end our day with sunset panoramic views over the city skyline on Mandalay Hill, the highest point of the city.

Biking:                         15-20km

Meals included:           breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight stay:           Mandalay Hotel 

 

Day 9: Mandalay – Bagan
After breakfast at the hotel you will be transfer to Mandalay Jetty and board either the Shwe Inn Keinnery (or Malikha) Cruise boat for a full day boat journey on the Ayeyarwaddy River to the ancient kingdom of Bagan, the greatest archeological treasure of Myanmar with over 4000 pagodas and temple ruins located on the Bagan plains. During its heyday, Bagan was one the greatest kingdoms in the world and is a truly magical destination to visit. The boat will arrive at Bagan jetty late afternoon when you will be welcomed by your local guide and transferred to your hotel.  


Meals included:           breakfast, lunch box will provided, and dinner

Overnight stay:           Bagan hotel


Day 10: Biking in Bagan
After breakfast at your hotel you continue on your bikes first to Nyaung U town and then to the Nyaung U market, the largest market in Bagan. You make stops at the Thanaka Museum and the gilded Shwezigon Stupa, purported to contain a holy tooth relic of the Buddha. In Taung Bi village, a typical Bagan neighborhood you make stops to learn how rice noodles and Myanmar cigars (cheroots) are made. After lunch you continue to the very well preserved Ananda Temple, often cited as the most beautiful temple in Bagan. A short ride away is the Shwenandaw Pagoda, a tall brick stupa offering perfect views over Bagan.  You continue along small, sandy lanes and tracks past more remote temple sites to New Bagan and Myinkaba village to visit a lacquer ware workshop for Bagan’s specialty arts and crafts. At sunset, you climb to the top of a temple that offers unparalleled photo opportunities of one of the richest archeological treasures in Southeast Asia as the sun dips behind the temple ruins (weather permitting).


Biking:                         20-30km mostly paved roads, some soft sand tracks at more remote locations.

Meals included:           breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight stay:           Bagan hotel 

 

Optional Excursion: Hot Air Balloon Flight over Bagan.
Imagine floating over thousand-year-old pagodas and the mighty Ayeyarwaddy River, as the sun sinks slowly behind distant mountains. The magic of Bagan has inspired visitors to Myanmar for centuries. One of the most remarkable sights in Asia, ancient temples dot the landscape as far as the eye can see. Now, Balloons over Bagan affords visitors a unique opportunity to see this ancient kingdom, as it never has been seen before. The sunrise and sunset champagne flights take off daily from October through to the end of March.

 

Day 11: Bagan – Yangon – Departure
After an early breakfast, you transfer to Bagan airport for your morning flight to Yangon and connecting flight to your onward destination.

Meals included:  breakfast

Included:

•          English speaking guides (local guide in each destination)

•          Private tours and transfers with air-conditioned vehicles as specified in our itinerary

•          Water, fresh fruits and local snacks during cycling days

•          All entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the itinerary

•          Lodging with breakfast as specified in the itinerary

•          Meals as specified in the itinerary

•          Luggage handling fees at airports

•          Bike rental

•          Mechanic & maintenance of hired bikes   


Excluded: 

•          Visa to Myanmar

•          International airfares or domestic air fares (mentioned separately)

•          Meals or any other item not described in the itinerary

•          Early check-in, late check-out, services and non-mentioned meals in the itinerary

•          Personal expenses

•          Drinks during meals, hotel extras and personal spending

•          Travel insurance (all participant must have full cover travel insurance)

•          Tips

  This tour is private and can be tailor-made to suit your travel needs. As a result the price is quoted in US dollars and shown on a per-person basis. The ‘Price From’ quoted is for a party of 6 to 8 people and for accommodation in 3 star hotels. The final price will be privately quoted, based on the number in your party, your preferred time of travel, grade of hotel and any additional services requested. Please click on the BOOK NOW button and fill in the booking form, after which one of our travel consultants will customize the best value holiday for you.

  • REMARKS:

We are aware that a good tour must have good hotels. In Indochina particularly, hotel price makes up most of the cost of your holiday in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. All of our prices are calculated on a twin-shared basis. As a guide, Travel Loops defines hotel grades as follows:

>>Superior Level (3 star hotels in good locations): > 60 USD/room/night
>>Deluxe Level (4 star hotels): > 110 USD/room/night
>>Luxury Level (5 star hotels): > 180 USD/room/night

 

Price based on twin shared accommodation.
Tour price is indicative only, please enquire for a detailed quotation.
More people means more discount. Please enquire for more details
 

Description Price per person in USD 
Group Size 2 3-5 6-8 9-12 13++ Single Supplement
Superior (3*) $ $ $ $ $ $
Deluxe (4*)            
Luxury (5*)            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 TBA


The trails and tracks of Myanmar (11 Days)
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