Authentic Myanmar, the magic of Inle Lake

YANGON
YANGON is the capital of Myanmar, home to more than 5 million inhabitants. Located 30 km from the sea, in the fertile Yangon delta, it enjoys consistently cool temperatures and lush, verdant nature. The abundance of shaded parks with magnificent tropical trees and its beautiful lakes make it one of the most pleasant and charming cities in Southeast Asia.
It is also nicknamed the “Garden City of the East”. Its many small open-air markets and food stalls scattered throughout the city offer a distinctly local version of “fast food”.
The glittering Shwedagon Pagoda, whose famous gold-covered stupa (99 m) dominates the city, is renowned the world over.
You will visit Yangon: the colonial quarter, Kandawgyi Lake to observe the royal barges, a popular relaxation spot for many Burmese.
City discovery: visit to Sule Pagoda, then the reclining Buddha of Chauk Htat Gyi.
You will then head to Shwedagon Pagoda, a site every Burmese dreams of visiting at least once in their lifetime, as it is the country’s most sacred Buddhist sanctuary. The imposing gilded stupa and its gold-covered dome rise to 98 m in height, adorned with 1,065 gold bells and 420 silver bells, 5,448 diamonds, and 2,317 rubies, sapphires and topazes. This exceptional monument is worth the trip on its own.
Welcome dinner at PADONMAR restaurant.

YANGON / MANDALAY / MINGUN / MANDALAY
Flight to Mandalay. Upon arrival, direct transfer to board a local boat for a 45-minute cruise on the Irrawaddy to MINGUN, where you can visit:
– Mingun Pagoda: Mingun boasts the largest zedi in the world.
– Hsinbyume Pagoda
– the Mingun Bell: at 4 metres high and 5 metres in diameter, it is considered the largest uncracked bell in the world
Lunch at a local restaurant, then return to Mandalay.
Discovery of Shwenandaw Monastery: a fine example of traditional wooden monastic architecture, once part of the royal palace complex and used as a residence by Queen and King Mindon. After their death, it was converted into a monastery. Inside, the carved panels, in excellent condition, depict “jataka” tales, episodes from the life of Buddha. Then Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as “the world’s largest book”, a central stupa surrounded by 729 marble slabs on which the entire Buddhist canon, or “Tripitaka”, is inscribed. Each slab is housed in its own individual stupa.
Visits to the craft workshops that built the city’s reputation and once supplied the royal court: wood and marble carvers, gold leaf beaters, Kalaga tapestry makers, puppet makers…
You will end the day with a sunset from Mandalay Hill, with a superb panorama over the city and the river.
Dinner and 2-night stay at the same hotel.

MANDALAY / AMARAPURA / AVA / SAGAING / MANDALAY
Visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, or “Great Paya”, whose centrepiece is a revered statue of Mahamuni brought from Rakhine State in Myanmar in 1784. The Paya was built for this statue, which likely dates back to the 1st century. Originally bronze, it has been covered over the years by thousands of Buddhists with gold leaf, forming a layer 15 cm thick. Every day at 4 a.m., a team of monks is tasked with washing the Mahamuni’s face and brushing its teeth. (Photographing the statue is forbidden.)
Continuation to Amarapura.
Walk through the local market before watching the daily meal of the 1,000 monks at Mahagandayon Monastery. Visit to a weaving workshop and local craft activity in town.
Ascent of Sagaing Hill, the most intense centre of Buddhist devotion in all of Myanmar, dotted with pagodas and monasteries.
Then, before lunch, a visit to Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, a very large dome-shaped pagoda.
Lunch at a local restaurant during the excursion.
Crossing of the small river and visit to Ava (Inwa) by horse-drawn carriage.
An original discovery of this very pastoral site (remains of the royal palace, the teak Bagaya Monastery, watchtower, etc.).
During the excursion you will see gold beaters making gold leaf.
On the way back, in the late afternoon, a walk on U Bein Teak Bridge, 1 km long, when all the monks come out onto the bridge at sunset; it is the longest teak bridge in the world (1 km), built from teak posts salvaged from a former royal palace now submerged in the lake.
Dinner at Myanandar restaurant.

MANDALAY / MONYWA
Breakfast, early in the morning.
Departure for Monywa and the carved caves of Po Win Daung.
Ferry crossing (30 minutes) over the Chindwin River to Nyangbingyl, then a 2-hour jeep drive to reach the caves, home to 400,000 painted statues depicting Buddha.
Lunch during the visits.
Visit to Monywa.
Dinner

MONYWA / PAKOKKU / BAGAN
Walk through Monywa’s local market.
You will visit Thanbode Temple, Bodhi Tataung Pagoda, then on to PAKOKKU, known for its tobacco trade and weaving shops.
Lunch during the visits.
Continuation to Bagan.
Dinner and 3-night stay at the same hotel.

BAGAN
Discovery of this city’s exceptional spectacle (11th to 13th centuries).
Visit to Bagan, with the famous Ananda Temple, a gem of Burmese architecture with its 4 immense Buddha statues, Ananda Okkyaung Monastery, one of the last brick monasteries, and Thatbyinnyu Temple, the tallest in Bagan at 61 metres high.
Visit to the Bagan site along the east bank of the Irrawaddy (note: in the pagodas, legs and shoulders must be covered and shoes removed).
The site is the most astonishing in the country, if not in South Asia, surrounded on all sides by ruins of every architectural type: temples, pagodas and stupas forming a ghost city on the plain, inhabited by the spirit of countless Buddhas.
Lunch during the visits at a local restaurant.
You will then visit the only lacquerware workshop on the site.
The highlight of the journey. A walk through the vibrant Nyaung-U market, continuing the visit of the Bagan site along the east bank of the Irrawaddy: Lawkananda Pagoda with its beautiful view over the river, Nagayon Temple (11th century), and Apyeyadanar Temple with its mural paintings.
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Excursion to the village of MINNANTHU, where you can discover the way of life of the local communities.
Boat trip on the Irrawaddy to reach Kyaut Gyi Temple for tea with the monks.
Return by boat along the river at sunset.
Dinner at NANDAR restaurant with a puppet show on the first evening, and at Sunset Garden on the second, with a 2-night stay at the hotel.

BAGAN / HEHO / INLE LAKE
Transfer to the airport and flight to Heho.
Continuation to Inle Lake, 50 km away.
Inle Lake is a true “aquamarine set in an emerald case”, located at 100 m altitude at the foot of Nyaung Shwe village. Surface area: 158 km².
Lunch.
Departure by motorised canoe: traditional long-tailed wooden teak boats. A ride through the markets of Maingthauk, Khaungdaing, Nampan, and the floating market of Ywama, where the Shan, Intha and Pa-O minorities who live along the shores gather to trade fish, tea, flowers, spices, traditional remedies, and more.
You will pass the famous Intha fishermen balancing on their canoes, then go on to discover a silk weaving workshop, a Burmese cheroot (cigar) maker, blacksmiths, and, in the village of Inpawkhon, a lotus-stem spinning mill.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

INLE LAKE (Shan State)
Visit to the local traditional market.
Visit to Nga Phe Chaung Monastery, built on stilts, once home to the famous “jumping cats”.
Crossing the lakeside village of Ywama to reach Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, home to 5 gold statues.
Lunch at the In Thar Lay floating restaurant.
Transfer by canoe to the village of Khaung Dine, on the eastern shore of the lake, passing on the way the extraordinary floating gardens of the Intha people (“children of the lake”) in the village of Kela.
Return to your hotel.

HEHO / YANGON
Transfer to the airport for a flight to Yangon (1h15).
Arrival in Yangon, then lunch at a local restaurant.
Walk through Bogyoke Aung San Market (closed on Mondays) and China Town, a bazaar and market in downtown Yangon.
Built by the British in 1926, it is known for its colonial architecture and its paved inner lanes. The market houses many shops. There are also antique dealers selling old coins, postage stamps and medals; these are found on the ground floor and first floor. At the centre of the market are jewellery vendors (jade, rubies and other precious stones). Elsewhere, you’ll find art galleries, craft shops, restaurants and clothing stores.
An extension of the market was built opposite, on the other side of Bogyoke Market Street. It houses shops catering to the local population, selling medicines, food, cheap clothing and imported goods.
Transfer to the airport and check-in formalities

In summary:
– 1 night in a 4* hotel
– 2 nights in Mandalay in a 4* hotel
– 1 night in Monywa in a 3* hotel
– 3 nights in Bagan in a 4* hotel
– 2 nights at Inle Lake in a 3/4* hotel