Tour Overview
This Cultural Holiday to Myanmar unfolds over 8 days, whisking you through bustling Yangon, the awe-inspiring temples of Bagan, and the serene beauty of Inle Lake. Explore the vibrant streets of Yangon, a city teeming with local life. Then, journey back in time to Bagan, where over 4,000 ancient pagodas dot the landscape. In Mingun, marvel at the colossal Mingun Bell and explore the ruins of the unfinished pagoda. Finally, cruise the tranquil Inle Lake, where traditional floating gardens and the mystical Indein complex await.
This Myanmar Tour is handcrafted for curious travelers seeking a unique blend of cultural discovery, historical immersion, and breathtaking natural beauty. Let Asia Links Travel accompany you on this journey. See the full itinerary for detailed information!
Tour Highlights
- Observe the Yangon city by walking through the alleys, stalls and participate in hundreds of local activities to get to know the local vibes.
- Reminisce of the Old Bagan with more than 4000 traditional red-brick pagodas.
- Discover the ancient land of Mingun with its fascinating attractions such as Mingun pagoda and bell.
- Take joy in riding with the boat to feel wind breeze from the Inle Lake and stunning nature view of the floating gardens as well as the Indein Complex.
Itinerary
Yangon greatly welcomes you! The guide will greet you at the Yangon International Airport and take you to the hotel for checking - in.
You will start your first day of Yangon city tour at Kyaukhtatgyi Pagoda where you will be astonished by the size of the 70-meter long Buddha. Then, move to the vibrant Chinatown to observe the beautiful dragons and incense of the Khen Hock Keong Chinese temple. Take a stroll through the bustling streets where vendors sell all kinds of goods.
Thereafter, you will move to the up-town area and visit the Kandawgyi Park to directly see and participate in the life of the local residents especially in the late afternoon and early morning. Nearby, you will have a look of a magnificent restaurant called Karaweik Palace, a remake of the royal barge.
When visiting Yangon, no one can ever forget how majestic the Golden Shwedagon Pagoda is.
We can assure you will see one of the most magical sights in life when watching the last light from the sun fading away one the roof of the Golden Stupa. That glow is unforgettable. After the sunset, it’s your shopping time for religious items at the end of the stairway down. You will be provided all of the information that you need to understand how to use those reverent items like the monk’s robe, alms bowl, offerings, and incense.
As the sky nearly turns to dark, it the time for another magical color transformation moment of the pagoda when gazing upon a 100 - meter chedi with 40 tons of gold leaves. To the Burmese people, the Golden Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the most significant places of Buddhism Religion over the country.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight in Yangon.
After staying in Yangon, time to move on to the next city - Bagan, with the domestic flight, to contemplate amazing architecture of Burma. The city Bagan, standing by the side of the Irrawaddy River, holds a huge number of temples, stupas, and pagodas and was considered the country’s center from the 9th till the 13th century. The most stunning trademark of the city is more than 4000 red-brick temples situated all across the city, which creates a breathtaking view from above.
We pay a visit to Ananda Temple first - hand - one of the most beautiful temples in Bagan. To ensure the best experience you can get when visiting this site, we will arrange the trip in the less crowded time. Then, proceed to explore other structures in the area to see more stunning 9th - 14th century manmade masterpieces.
Besides, you will get a glimpe of the local life as the temples in Bagan have long attached with the normal, daily life of Burmese people when they have spent their living by the side of the monuments in the city.
Next, we will pay a visit to the workshops of lacquer ware and wood cravings to see how the locals made these beautiful products.
*OPTIONAL: SUNSET CRUISE ON IRRAWADDY RIVER
In the late afternoon, you will be taken to the jetty for a private boat ride on Irrawaddy River. Enjoy the beauiful scenery passes by with peaceful villages, hard - working fishermen and magnificent Buddhist constructions. This boat trip offers you a chance to see a different side of the ancient city with its massive temple plain as well as the spectacular view of sunset on the biggest waterway of Burma. Afterwards, disembark from the boat and transit back to the hotel.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight in Bagan.
*OPTIONAL: Hot air ballon ride over Bagan is available from Octocber to March giving travellers a great opportunity to contemplate the magnificent temple plain of Bagan from the bird's eye view. This experience promises to be a once - in - a - lifetime journey. Contact us today for the best offers!
Your first visit of the day will be Nyaung Oo Market, the commonplace of the locals to trade fresh food and goods. Then a short walk to get to know the Old Bagan and visit the famous Shwezigon Pagoda, which was built since the 11th century by King Anawratha to commemorate Buddhism events. The rest of the morning is the time to wander around the area to explore many other hidden beauties of the daily life of the residents in Bagan.
A horse cart excursion will be arranged for you to stopover the highest temple in Bagan - Thatbyinnyu, the distinctive brickwork from the great Dhammayangyi Temple and last but not least the “crowning jewel” - Sulamani Temple.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight in Bagan.
Domestic flight to Mandalay. Being the second largest city of Burma as well as the last royal capital, Mandalay not only owns rich culture and tradition but also an ideal place for business inevesting. Upon arrival at the airport, you will be transferred to the Mandalay city (about 1 hour drive).
After crossing the Irrawaddy River to Sagaing, you will be greeted with more than 600 white colored pagodas and monasteries. The place is regarded as the sanctuary for monks and meditation practice with more than 3000 monks all living together and more than 100 meditation shines. Places that you should pay a visit to some of them, for example, the Swan Oo Pon Nya Shin, Shin Pin Nan Gyaing and U Min Thone Sae.
The former capital from 14th to the 18th century is Ava will be your next stop. Traveling by a small river ferry and then switch to the traditional horse carriage, you now arrive in Bagaya Monastery with remarkable woodcarving structures. Then the famous “leaning tower of Ava” which is also known as the Nanmyint Watch Tower and also what’s left behind of the ancient palace and Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery.
Thereafter, you will be taken back in time to the “City of Immortality” - Amarapura. The wide roads and twisting alleyways make Amarapura feel less aggressively modern than Mandalay, and spending a day here is a pleasant undertaking. Here, we pay a visit to the Mahagandayon monastery, where thousands of monks gather and study monastic and religious disciplines.
Next, you can choose to go on foot or travel by bus to the gorgeous U Bein Bridge, which is in the meantime still the longest teakwood bridge in the world’s record. As the sun goes down, it is the best chance to capture the most beautiful moment of the sun shines its last rays through the wooden poles. This historic bridge marks the remains of the Royal Palace in Ava(Inwa) when the Burmese capital was moved to Amarapura.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight in Mandalay.
On this day, we will ride on a private jetty and spend about an hour sailing on the Irrawaddy River and heading to Mingun.
Mingun welcomes you with the first sight of Mingun Paya - unfinished stupas left behind from the late 18th century. A prophecy going around in the Kingdom foretold that once the pagoda was finished the Kingdom would come to an end, which may have led to a deliberate slowdown of the project. When the King died in 1819 the project was indefinitely halted and none of his successors resumed work on it.
In the 1800s, a terrible earthquake struck in leaving a huge crack on the surface of the stupa that we can see today. From the top of the paya, you can open up to a view of the magnificent Hsinbyume Paya, Mingun village and a part of the Irrawaddy River. However, it is not safe to climb on the top of the temple now because of its old structure.
Then, we move to visit the unique architecture of Hsinbyume Pagoda which is modeled after the Sulamani Temple - an important symbol in Buddist cosmos.
Another relic of the former King is the Mingun Bell with a height of 3,7 meters and a weight of 90 tons. Not only play a great role in the religious affair of the local communities, but the bell also is the 2nd largest bell on the planet that is still hung and usable. We also spend some time to chat with the friendly locals here and see how they make the traditional basket.
Afterwards, back to Mandalay for a city tour. Our first stop is the 240 - meter above the city surface - Mandalay Hill. Once arrived on the top of the hill, you can almost catch the view of the whole Mandalay city from the Mandalay Palace on one side to the Irrawaddy River on the other side.
Heading a little bit to the south, you’ll visit the Kyauktawgyi Pagoda where is home to a gigantic marble block turned into Buddha statue. Up next, we proceed to visit Kuthodaw Pagoda, which famous for its footage of old sayings from Buddha - the “World’s Biggest Book” made out of 729 marble tiles. The last stop of the morning is the Shwenandaw Monastery, which is still keeping the wood-carving art of Royal Palace’s structure from the beginning of the 19th century.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight in Mandalay.
Transit from Mandalay to the domestic airport for the flight to Heho. Upon your arrival, you will head to the Nyang Shwe village to explore the making of traditional Shan paper and others and workshops. En route, we also stop at Shweyanpyay monastery to admire it sophisticated woodworks and the monks' craftsmanship.
Your adventure at Inle Lake begins with a remarkable boat ride around the lake. The lake’s bank is featured with thousand of plants and dotted with fishing canoes, which creates a perfectly balanced atmosphere between human and nature. The plants, crawling upon the bamboo poles, on the lake are mostly the local’s “floating gardens” and there they grow vegetables as well as fresh fruits.
Standing on the river bank, you will catch a spectacular scene of the fishermen rowing their boat in an unusual way - one - legged rowing while the other leg is to balance the boat and the hands a using conical nest to catch fishes in the lake.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight at Inle Lake.
You will start your morning with the bustling vibe from the local market (the market runs every day except for the dark moon and full moon days). The earlier you arrive at the market, the more fresh products from the local you can get.
After the visit to Inle’s morning market, you will take a 1-hour boat ride on the small canal, which will lead you to the Pa-Oh village of Indein on the west side of Inle Lake. You should follow the stairway, along with the greenery trail, to the top of the hill. Once you get there, there comes the view of the historic Buddha statue among hundreds of ruined stupas.
Then, trek down the Sae Ma village, you can catch the panoramic scene of the purest nature’s beauty and normal life of the village’s inhabitants. Take a walk among the Indein Complex, it is the most amazing site around the area
If there is still spare time from the walking, we will lead you to the Inthar Heritage House for further background information of the inhabitant in this area in terms of history and culture with a sip of coffee and pieces of cake (snack break is not included). There comes to an end of the day.
Lunch and Dinner on your own. Overnight at Inle Lake.
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel. Time to pack your bags and ride to Heho Airport for a domestic flight to Yangon. Take the flight from Yangon International Airport and head home.
End of tour services!
What's included
Trip Notes
Time travel: Possible to travel all year around.
Rooms are available from 14.00 on arrival day until 12.00 on departure day, room supplement charge will be added for request of early/late check in/out.
Airfares (if any) may change without notice prior to e-ticket issuance.
Price for infants and children will be quoted as follow:
- Children under 2 years old: Free of charge (Maximum 1 child under 2 years old travels with 2 adults; from the second child, 50% of the regular fare will be applied)
- Children from 2 to 5 years old: 50% of the regular fare will be applied
- Children from 5 to 11 years old: 75% of the regular fare will be applied
- Children from 12 years: 100% of the regular fare will be applied
During Peak Season and special occasions, surcharges may be added to the price:
- Christmas and New Year’s Eve: Compulsory meals would be added during these times of the years, depends on hotels or resorts you will stay overnight.
- Myanmar New Year: 12 April – 18 April: Extra fee will be applied during holiday.
Visa requirements:
For Myanmar: You must have a valid passport and a visa (E-visa or visa on arrival) to enter Myanmar. Our consultant will be happy to advise you on visa requirements.
Your passport must be valid for six months beyond your planned stay, and you must have at least one blank page for each visa stamp.





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