MYANMAR GRAND TOUR
15 days | US$3600 | Imperial Active in Myanmar
Premium hotels, selected dining experiences, and hand picked destinations don’t mean you won’t travel the bumpy back roads that bring you right to the heart of this land of smiles. Elegance, adventure and attention to detail are blended with finesse, to create your perfect Myanmar Grand Tour.
Day 1-2 Yangon to Taungoo
Meet with your guide and enjoy a Burmese meal as you pick up tips on the country and how to get the best out of travel in Myanmar.
Setting off early on day 2, you will travel Highway 1 through Myanmar’s rural heartland, visiting Taukkyan Cemetery, the largest of three war cemeteries and an important pilgrimage, for those wishing to understand Myanmar and its history.
A teak-verandahed guesthouse set in the rice paddies and run by two friendly doctors awaits you in Taungoo - a highlight for simply being in the middle of rural nowhere.
Day 3 – 4 Kalaw
Drive the steep forested hills up the Shan Plateau, through lands that are home to the, Palaung, Padaung, Pa-o, Shan and Intha people. Enjoy the change in temperature and vegetation as you ascend this picturesque road. Arriving in Kalaw late afternoon, explore the charming tea shops and markets of this the pleasant hill station.
Trekking in Kalaw is tailored to your fitness and personal needs. Choose an easy walk with fantastic views, lunching in a nearby village, or, request something a little more hardcore. Your guide will bring you up close with the local culture and local people’s lives, offering you the opportunity to visit a school and some of the community development projects that Imperial Expeditions supports.
A fabulous meal awaits you on return at a legendary local restaurant operated by seven sisters from this region.
Day 5 - 7 Inle Lake
A short flight on day 2 takes you to Nyaungshwe, a convenient base to explore Inle Lake and the villages of Myanmar’s agriculturally abundant 'rice-basket' up high on the temperate Shan plateau. Cycling and canoeing are great options to explore this famous lake region. Then, slow the pace right down as you wander back lanes to colourful produce markets, taking refreshment at rustic tea-houses, as the locals love to do.
The romantically clunky Taunggyi Express from Kalaw to Nyaungshwe (our base for Inle) runs occasionally on schedule with this trip. The alternative car journey through this agriculturally fertile region is an equally spectacular way to get up close to the colourful rural abundance along this route. How you get there is all part of the fun.
Cycling and canoeing are great options to explore the surrounds of the famous Inle Lake. Slow the pace even further with a wander through the back lanes to colourful produce markets, taking frequent refreshment at rustic tea-houses, as the locals love to do.
Watch out for the famous leg-rowing fishermen as you join the local flotilla crossing the lake to the daily market on the morning of day 3. Tribal people trading goods or simply catching up on last weeks gossip over a cup of tea are scenes that are as timeless as they are nostalgic. Silks, silver and handicrafts from local cottage industries are great bargains here and fun to haggle for.
Taking lunch with friends under the shadow of Phaung Daw U, the holiest religious site on the lake, be enlightened by the wall-paintings of Buddha’s revered spiritual journey. You will also visit the floating gardens and drop into the quirky jumping cat monastery, for a taste of the absurd.
Day 7 is a free day. Try a hike into the mountains to visit the mysterious and reclusive Pa-O people, or take time by the lake or in a teahouse with a book, as you choose.
Day 8 - 10 Mandalay
Drive to Mandalay, a colourful trade hub that has become a melting pot of Burma' many and varied indigenous cultures. Mandalay's sights will dazzle you.
See the fascinating 'Mandalay Marionettes' which teach important legends and folklore despite fierce competition from modern television productions. You will meet the puppet masters after the show and learn about their quest to keep this important tradition alive.
Day nine starts with sunrise (great light for photos) over U Bei, the world's longest all-teak bridge. Visit the stunning Mahamuni Pagoda with its revered gold leaf Buddha, and check out tribal wear from this melting pot of cultures in the buzzing Zegyo market. Sunset over the Irrawaddy River back dropped by the Chin Hills from atop Mandalay Hill is a great beginning to the night.
Day 10 starts in a trishaw driving through the foggy streets down to the river where a boat will transfer you to the ancient capital of Mingun. A place of superlatives, Mingun is famous for an attempted 'worlds biggest' pagoda where you can gong the world’s largest uncracked bell, and enjoy the company of Myanmar’s (reportedly) friendliest community.
Day 11 Boat journey Mandalay to Bagan
Go local on the ferry to Bagan watching life on the river pass you by. Villagers fishing the shallows with throw nets, bathing in the river, ploughing paddy with water buffalo are scenes little changed since described by writers of Burma’s colonial heyday, Kipling, Maugham and Greene. Arrive in Myanmar’s spiritual capital that same evening.
Day 12 - 13 Bagan
UNESCO listed Bagan is like no other place in the world. Two thousand temples from an original collection of four thousand stand as testament to the importance of Buddhism in Burma’s first unified. A horse cart is the best speed and vantage point to view this ethereal landscape, study pagodas of all shapes and sizes. Your guide will interpret what you see and then facilitate your own further exploration, by cycle, hired vehicle or on simply by foot. The evening light painted as a series of delicate silhouettes in receding layers is another of the many moments of pure Myanmar magic.
Days 14-15 Bagan to Yangon
Fly back to Yangon to the glittering gardened capital. Hear those temple bells tinkle* at the famous Shredagon Pagoda, the largest and most mythologised Buddhist Paya.
*Rudyard Kipling, the Road to Mandalay.
Tour Inclusions
Tripcode: IEMY15D08
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