Through the Shan Mountains

DAY 1: YANGON
Welcome at the airport by a local English-speaking guide. City tour to take in the charm of Myanmar’s largest city.
Transfer and check-in at the hotel. Room available from 2pm.
The day’s schedule is adjusted according to arrival time. City tour to take in the charm of Myanmar’s largest city. In the afternoon, visit to Chauk Htet Gyi pagoda, Sule pagoda, and the Chinese and Indian quarters.
At sunset, visit to the majestic Shwedagon pagoda, its golden dome towering over the city.

DAY 2: YANGON / HEHO / INLE LAKE
After breakfast, visit to the colonial quarter and its old buildings, such as the old post office, the famous Strand Hotel, and Yangon’s port.
In the early afternoon, transfer to Yangon airport and flight to Heho.
On arrival, welcome by your local English-speaking guide and transfer to Nyaung Shwe (about 1 hour). Walk through the village, then transfer and check-in at the hotel.

DAY 3: INLE LAKE
Breakfast at the hotel. Walk among the lake villages to observe the way of life of the Intha, who have developed highly distinctive navigation, fishing and farming techniques.
Optional: Pop-up lunch on the lake
Your boat will be transformed into a floating restaurant. You can have lunch while watching fishermen cast their nets from very long boats, navigating in a striking way — standing on one leg at the bow, the other leg wrapped around a long oar. You’ll enjoy a delicious meal, gently rocked by the lapping water.
The outing includes stops at a weaving village, the floating gardens, Ngaphe Chaung monastery, and Phaung Daw Oo pagoda.

DAY 4: INLE LAKE / PINDAYA
After breakfast, drive through hilly landscape to the village of Pindaya (about 3 hours). Visit caves housing thousands of Buddha statues gathered by pilgrims over the centuries, as well as local craft workshops, including an umbrella-making workshop.
In the afternoon, transfer and check-in at the hotel.

DAY 5: Walk from PINDAYA to TAUNG MYINT GYI
Departure on foot from Pindaya at around 8:00am towards See Kya Inn, enjoying exceptional views along the way. Lunch at the village chief’s home. Through tea plantations, walk to Taung Myint Gyi, a village of the Palaung ethnic group.
Overnight at Taung Myint Gyi monastery.
Total walking time: about 5 hours.

DAY 6: Walk from TAUNG MYINT GYI to HMWE DAW
Departure from Taung Myint Gyi for about 4 hours of walking to Kyaung Soe Gone.
Opportunity to see numerous villages and various plantations, and to cover part of the way by ox cart.
Midday meal in Kyaung Soe Gone at a family home. Continue on to Hmwe Daw monastery, perched atop a hill.
Overnight at Hmwe Daw monastery.
Total walking time: about 6 hours.

DAY 7: Walk from HMWE DAW to SAY TI GONE
Departure at around 8:00am for Naung Ye, about 3 hours of walking, with lunch in the village.
The trek continues towards the village of Nawar Taung.
Walk through chive and cheroot-leaf plantations.
Overnight at Nawar Taung monastery.
Total walking time: about 5 hours.

DAY 8: Walk from SAY TI GONE to KALAW / HEHO / MANDALAY
Departure from Nawar Taung to reach, after 2.5 hours of walking, the village of Myin Ka, home to the Pa-O tribe. End of the trek.
Transfer to Heho airport and flight to Mandalay.
Then, transfer to the hotel via the city centre, for a first glimpse of Burma’s last royal capital.

DAY 9: MANDALAY
Welcome by your local English-speaking guide for a morning devoted to exploring Mandalay: the pagoda of the great sage Mahamuni, Shwenandaw monastery, a former Royal Palace building built of teak wood, Kyauktawgyi pagoda with its seated Buddha carved from a single block of marble, Kuthodaw pagoda and its gigantic stone book (739 stelae), as well as gold-leaf workshops.
Free afternoon, overnight in Mandalay.

DAY 10: MANDALAY (MINGUN, AMARAPURA)
After breakfast, crossing on a local boat on the Irrawaddy to the village of Mingun. Visit to Pondawphaya and Settawya pagodas, Mantaragyi pagoda, and the legendary Mingun bell, which weighs 101 tonnes. This bell is considered the largest intact bell in the world. Its unfinished pagoda would have been the tallest in the world had the project not been abandoned upon King Bodawpaya’s death.
In the afternoon, departure for Amarapura, a former capital 12km south of Mandalay. Meeting with the craftsmen, carvers and weavers who made the town famous.
At sunset, crossing of the famous U Bein teak bridge.

DAY 11: MANDALAY / MONYWA (PO WIN TAUNG)
After breakfast, departure by road (about 3 hours) to Monywa.
Along the way, explore Sagaing Hill, a major site of Burmese Buddhism, dotted with temples and white-and-gold-domed pagodas built among century-old tamarind trees.
Arrival in Monywa and check-in at the hotel.
Crossing of the Chindwin River to the Po Win Taung caves, home to thousands of frescoes and carvings unique in Southeast Asia, dating back to the 12th century (the Bagan period).
Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

DAY 12: MONYWA / PAKOKKU / BAGAN
After breakfast, drive (about 3 hours) along the west bank of the Irrawaddy to reach the town of Pakokku. Stop in the little-known village of Ma Oo Le to discover an archaeological site buried in lush vegetation, also an opportunity to observe the incense-stick-making process.
In Pakokku, stroll through the local market and visit a workshop producing the famous “cheroots”, Burmese cigars.
Boarding a private boat for about 2 hours cruising on the Irrawaddy River to reach Bagan.
On arrival, transfer and check-in at the hotel.

DAY 13: BAGAN
After breakfast, welcome by your local English-speaking guide and stroll through the lively Nyaung U market. Visit to Shwezigon pagoda: the elegant bell shape of the golden stupa became the model for all stupas later built in Myanmar.
Afternoon devoted to visiting the main monuments of Old Bagan: the ruins of the Royal Palace and Tharabar Gate, Ananda Temple, a jewel of Burmese architecture with its 4 huge Buddha statues, and Ananda Okkyaung, one of the last remaining brick monasteries.
Ride in a local horse-drawn carriage (about 1.5 hours) to watch the sunset from the top of a pagoda.

DAY 14: BAGAN / NYAUNG U / YANGON
Optional: Hot-air balloon flight over the Bagan plain at sunrise.
After breakfast, visit to the beautiful Gawdawpalin temple, then the monuments around Myinkaba: Manuha, Myinkaba-Gubyaukgyi, Nanpaya and Nagayon temples.
Then head to New Bagan, south of the site, to visit a lacquerware workshop: learning the age-old techniques for making this Bagan craft speciality.
In the late afternoon, transfer to Nyaung U airport and return flight to Yangon.
On arrival, welcome by your local English-speaking guide, transfer and check-in at the hotel.

DAY 15: YANGON
Breakfast at the hotel. Rooms must be vacated by midday.
If time allows, this will be an opportunity to wander through the maze of shops at Bogyoke Market for last-minute souvenir shopping (closed Mondays and public holidays). Depending on your flight time, transfer to the airport and departure.

In summary:
– 1 night in Yangon in a guesthouse
– 2 nights at Inle Lake in a 3-4* hotel
– 1 night in Pindaya in a 2-3* hotel
– 3 nights in monasteries
– 3 nights in Mandalay in a 3* hotel
– 1 night in Monywa in a 3* hotel
– 2 nights in Bagan in a 3-4* hotel
– 1 night in Yangon in a guesthouse

Programme subject to change without prior notice due to changes in airline schedules or the cancellation of certain flights.

We reserve the right to adjust prices at any time in the event of an increase in fuel surcharges applied by airlines or any other transport company.