Experience many of the most famous sights of Myanmar on this fully guided and supported cycling journey. Your trip starts from the British administration constructed capital city, Yangon (formerly Rangoon), where we visit the magnificent gold plate and gemstone decorated Swedagon pagoda; take a stroll through the quaint old quarter of Yangon enjoying the sights and sounds of this bustling city. We start our cycling journey in Mandalay and explore the Ancient Capitals of Myanmar all situated near Mandalay City. We take leisurely rides visiting the last remaining palace building, a centuries old teak wood monastery, the sacred Mahamuni Buddha’s temple and observe how traditional arts and crafts are made in local workshops. From Mandalay we fly to rural Shan State and beautiful Inle Lake region inhabited by several minorities. By Inle we cycle through the Myanmar countryside; sample local vineyard products, visit markets, floating gardens and cultural highlights on the lake and the surrounding area. From Inle Lake we continue to a famous pilgrimage site at Pindaya Cave and then fly from Heho to the Ancient Kingdom of Bagan, the greatest archeological treasure of Myanmar with over 4000 pagodas and temple ruins located on the plains of Bagan by the Irrawaddy River (Irrawaddy). Bagan was during its heyday one the greatest kingdoms in the world and is a truly magical destination to visit.  Our last lap of biking is from Bagan to an extinct volcano and spirit-worshipping center at Mt Popa before returning back to Yangon.

 

Brief Itinerary

 

Day 1: Yangon highlights – Walking tour

Day 2: Yangon – Ava (Inn Wa) – Mingun – Mandalay

Day 3: Mandalay City Highlights

Day 4: Biking from Heho to Inle Lake

Day 5: Inle Lake – Inn Thein (by boat)

Day 6: Inle Lake – Red Mountain Estate Vineyard – Pindaya

Day 7: Pindaya – Bagan

Day 8: Ride to Mt. Popa

Day 9: Yangon

Day 10: Yangon

Day 1: Yangon highlights – Walking tour
On your arrival at Yangon International airport, you will be welcomed by your Myanmar 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 Yangon Old Quarter, built during the British colonial era where many charming historical buildings can still be found. 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 like 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 old port buildings on Strand road, you head to the lively Chinese and Indian quarters before reaching the 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)

After lunch, you walk to the nearby Yangon Central Railway Station where you embark on the Yangon Circle Line train and travel as the locals do. The railway line ambles in a leisurely, 3-hour loop around Yangon and the surrounding neighborhoods and is full of character. You disembark the train after a few stops and approximately 30 minutes of travelling to continue sightseeing in your own vehicle. 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:                                     Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodation:        Yangon Hotel

Day 2: Yangon – Ava (Inn Wa) – Mingun – Mandalay
After breakfast at the hotel you will be transfer to Yangon domestic airport for a 1-hour flight to Mandalay, the last royal capital of Myanmar. Your biking journey starts from Mandalay airport. You ride first around 8 km on the quiet airport road before turning to a smaller, unpaved road leading to the ruins of ancient capital cities and the Ava/Inn Wa kingdom situated on an island between Myint Nge and the Irrawaddy Rivers. You make photo stops at Nan Myint Watch Tower, the last remaining structure of the palace compound in the heart of the complex; the 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 a small ferry and ride across the bridge to the ancient capital of Sagaing, home to 6,000-7,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and novices and one the most important religious centers in Myanmar. From Sagaing you cycle North along the shores of the Irrawaddy River through rural farming communities to Mingun. The road is paved and has very light traffic and part of the journey is travelled over 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 our 1-hour sunset cruise across the Irrawaddy River to Mandalay. On arrival at the Mandalay jetty you will be transfer to the hotel for check in.

 

Cycled distance:          Approx. 60km

Difficulty level:           Easy/Moderate

Meal:                           Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Mandalay hotel

Day 3: Mandalay City 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 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. You end your day with sunset panoramic views over city skyline from Mandalay Hill, the highest point of the city.         

 

Cycled distance:          Approx. 20 km

Difficulty level:           Easy/Moderate

Meal:                          Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Mandalay hotel

Day 4: Biking from Heho to Inle Lake
After breakfast you transfer to Mandalay airport to catch a morning flight to Heho, a quiet transit town with one of the few airport links in the beautiful hills of Shan State. You start your Shan state biking journey from Heho airport and visit the bustling Heho Market, the meeting point for different ethnic minority groups from the surrounding areas to trade handmade goods and locally grown produce (on market days only). A few kilometres later we stop at a local family workshop to learn how Shan umbrellas and paper are made from mulberry tree pulp. Riding through local villages descending from Shan highlands to lower lying paddy and farming field region you continue on a smaller unpaved road to Kyaung Haung village situated on the western shore of the lake. After a late lunch you will be transfer to your hotel by boat on the Inle Lake. On the way we see 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 balancing on one leg, a technique indigenous to the Inn Thar minority group who do this only on Inle Lake.

 

Cycled distance:          Approx. 40km

Difficulty level:           Easy/Moderate

Meal:                           Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Inle Lake hotel 

 

Day 5: 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 you 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 traditional methods. As an extra treat, you 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.

Meal:                          Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Inle Lake in hotel

Day 6: Inle Lake – Vineyard – Pindaya
After breakfast, you ride your bikes along the shores of Inle Lake (approx. 10 km) passing though small farming communities. If you are lucky you may see some sugarcane plantations while the farmers are harvesting and extracting the cane juice. Near Main Thauk village you visit the Red Mountain Estate to tour the lush vineyard situated on the side of mountain, and sample some of Myanmar’s premier wines, and observe the different aging methods completed in their cave cellar. You continue to nearby Nyaung Shwe town, the commercial center of the lake region for an early lunch and then transfer 1.5 hours to Aung Ban, a junction town of roads heading North to South and East to West. You cycle from Aung Ban to Pindaya (38 km) on a smaller road, passing through the gently rolling Shan highlands and farming region until you reach Pindaya where you visit the Pindaya cave housing thousands of Buddha images donated by Buddhist devotees alongside caverns filled with numerous stalactite formations. After the cave visit you check in at your hotel in Pindaya for the night.

Cycled distance:          Approx. 55 km

Difficulty level:           Easy/Moderate

Meal:                          Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Pindaya hotel

Day 7: Pindaya – Bagan
After an early breakfast you will be transfer to Heho airport for a morning flight to Bagan. On arrival at Bagan you send your luggage on to the hotel and continue by bike, first to Nyaung U town and then to Nyaung U market, the largest market in Bagan you stop at the Thanaka Museum and gilded Shwezigon Stupa, purported to contain a holy tooth relic of the Buddha. In Taung Bi village, a typical Bagan neighborhood, we make a few stops to learn how rice noodles and Myanmar cigars, or 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 passing some of the more remote temple sites to New Bagan and Myinkaba village to visit a lacquer ware workshop as well as more of 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).

 

Cycled distance:          Approx. 30 km

Difficulty level:           Easy/Moderate

Meal:                          Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Bagan hotel

Day 8: Ride to Mt. Popa
After breakfast you ride out east from Bagan on paved, mostly flat terrain passing through farmland and palm tree lined roads. You stop for lunch at a family-run toddy shop and watch how they make the rich and caramel-like toddy candies from the sap of the toddy palms. A packed lunch will be provided during this break. Mount Popa is the Myanmar spiritual epicenter for those who worship the group of Nat spirits and martyrs. After paying respects at the Nat shrine at the foot of the mountain, we climb nearly 800 steps to the pagoda perched at the top and admire the views of the surrounding plains and farmlands. The last part of your cycling journey is an uphill ride to the Mt Popa Resort offering fantastic views over the Popa Mountain and surrounding farmlands.

Cycled distance:          Approx. 55 km

Difficulty level:           Moderate

Meal:                          Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Bagan hotel

 

Optional Excursion: Hot Air Balloon over Bagan
Imagine floating over thousand-year-old pagodas and the mighty Irrawaddy 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 9: Yangon
After an early breakfast you will be transfer to Bagan airport by car/coach for a morning flight to Yangon.  The rest of the day in Yangon is free for shopping or relaxing. If you missed any sightseeing on the arrival day due to a late incoming flight you can visitluggage. A farewell dinner is served in one of the best restaurants in Yangon.

Meal:                           Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation:        Yangon hotel

 

Day 10: Yangon
after breakfast will proceed by checking out the hotel then transfer to Yangon airport for your onward flight.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Included: 

•          English speaking local guides in Yangon. Accompanied by a cycling guide from Heho to Mandalay.

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

•          Minibus and support vehicle during long cycling days

•          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 (quoted separately)

•          Luggage handling fees at airports

•          Bike rental & helmets (quoted separately. Most of our bikes are Trek Brand)

•          Mechanic & maintenance of hired bikes (Those who decide to bring own bikes should bring spares and tool set with them)

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

•          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