Myanmar Buddhist Discovery

Welcome to Yangon. Upon your arrival, your professional local guide and experienced driver will greet you at the airport and take you to the well selected hotel for check-in.

Yangon is a seaside city with colonial characteristics, so you can see many British architectures in downtown area. In the morning, we will explore the Immanuel Baptist Church, the Sule Pagoda, and the Botahtaung Pagoda. 

In the afternoon, we will head to visit the highlights of Yangon. Firstly, your guide will take you to visit the stunning golden Chaukhtatgyi Buddha with a length of 66 meters (72 yards), regarded as one of the largest reclining Buddha statues in Burma. Next is an exterior visit to the Burmese architecture Karaweik Hall in Kandawgyi Park, which is also the best place to take the pictures of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Finally, we will visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda in the afterglow of the setting sun shining.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, we will drive for around 5 hours to the famous Buddhist holy land – the Golden Rock, also called the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. It is a huge rock with gold-leaves on the surface situated at the cliff. In midway, we will stop over at Kyaly Khat Wai Monastery to learn about the real daily life of young monks in the temple. After arriving at the mountain foot, we will transfer to a truck to reach the summit and then walk for around 15 minutes to the Golden Rock.

Better To Know:
• The local truck won't depart until it's full. 
• The mountain road is very steep, so a pair of stout shoes is necessary. 
• It's cold at night, so you're suggested to take a sweater or a jack.
• You are advised to bring only the necessities for an overnight stay on the mountain. Other luggage can be left in Yangon.

Meals: Breakfast

At dawn, we will enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Golden Rock and explore some other Buddhist pagodas and shrines on Mount Kyaiktiyo. Afterwards, go downhill by truck and then you will be driven back to Yangon by a private car. On the way back, we will stopover at Bago to tour Shwemawdaw pagoda, Shwethalyaung and Kyaik Pun pagoda. With a height of 114 meters (374 feet), Shwemawdaw pagoda is the highest pagoda in Myanmar. If time permits, a tour to World War II Cemetery and a ceramics workshop will be arranged. Tonight, you will stay at the hotel in Yangon.

Meals: Breakfast

Bagan is the art palace of ancient architectures, paintings and sculptures in Myanmar. Today, your guide and driver will send you to the airport for your flight to Bagan. The flight duration is 1 hour and 20 minutes. Upon landing, your Bagan local guide and driver will pick you up and take you to visit Ananda Temple integrating the architectural styles of Mon and India, the interesting lacquer-ware workshop, the Minkaba Gubyaukyi Temple with the most ancient mural paintings of Bagan, the primitive plaster sculptures in Htilominlo Pahto as well as the gilded Mya Zedi Temple. Late in the afternoon, we will head to the port and take a wooden boat to enjoy the sunset. Finally, you will be escorted to check into the hotel to have a good rest. 

Meals: Breakfast

The first stop today will be the Nyaung U Market where you can mingle with local people and feel the local life atmosphere. Here, you will also have chances to see how locals daubed with yellow face powder on their cheeks, and how a crafter turn a block of plain wood into a work of art. 

As the Land of Temples, Bagan has oodles of temples to explore. Accompanied by your guide, you will take a car or a horse carriage to explore the famous temples one by one, including Shwezigon Paya, Nan Paya Temple, Thatbyinnyu Temple, Dhammayangyi Temple and Sulamani Temple. During the visit, your guide will introduce you to the mysteries stories of each temple. At sunset, you will be taken to overlook Bagan from a hill.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Bagan airport for a 30 minutes' flight to Mandalay, which used to be the capital for several dynasties. After landing, your Mandalay local guide will lead you to the Mahagandayon monastery, which has a history more than 100 years. Every morning, tourists from all over the world will gather here to see thousands of monks dining together. The next stop will be the Mahamuni Pagoda, housing Myanmar's best-known bronze Buddha, which is covered with gold leaves by Buddhist devotees and is regarded as the real body of Buddha. Then we will also stroll along the streets nearby to see the traditional marble sculptures.

Afterwards, we will head to the Kuthodaw Pagoda, which collects 729 stone tablets carved with Buddhist scriptures, thus renowned as "the World's Largest Book". The nearby Shwenandaw Monastery is famous for the delicate wood carvings. King Thidaw used to sit alone in meditation here, and now the meditation bed still remains. At the end of today's tour, we will stroll leisurely along the U Bein Bridge. This 1.2-kilometer-long (0.7-mile-long) teak bridge stretches over Taungthaman Lake and is famous for the charming scenery of sunset. At dusk, we will enjoy a boat tour to appreciate the sunset here. After that, you will be driven to check in at the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, your guide will accompany you to Mandalay jetty to take a boat to the country's largest ancient pagoda ruins Mingun Pahtodawgyi, the white Hsinbyume Pagoda, the 90-ton Mingun Bell and Mingun village, where people live in simple lifestyles. Afterwards, we will head to Sagaing Hill, where about 600 Buddhist pagodas and monasteries are located. The highlights are Soon U Ponya Shin Paya, U Min Thonze Caves and Shin Pin Nan Gyaing. In addition, there are about 200 nunneries and we will visit a famous one. At the end of this day, you could appreciate the sunset at the mountain top.

Meals: Breakfast

Your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for a 30 minutes' flight to Heho. Upon arrival, your Heho private local local guide and driver will pick you up and drive you to NyaungShwe village near the Inle Lake to visit the local workshops of Shan paper and umbrella, and the unique Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung. Then proceed to the port to take a boat to explore the Inle Lake. You will see the houses and gardens on water, fishermen rowing boat with one leg as well as Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. The five small Buddhist statues in the pagoda have been covered with gold leaves and it is hard to distinguish its true image. If you are interested in the manual skills, we can also visit some workshops here. At last, move forward to the hotel in Inle Lake for check-in.

Meals: Breakfast

Today, your guide will lead you to explore the local market (closed on dark moon and full moon calendar days), tour Shwe Indein Pagoda located in Indein Village, and learn the folk customs and appreciate the natural scenery of Sae Ma village.

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, your driver will transfer you to the airport on time and help you to board the flight to Yangon. Your tour will end here. Sincerely hope you have had a great time with us. 

Meals: Breakfast