Amazing Myanmar or Burma Tour

Arrive in Yangon, where your local tour guide meets you and takes you to your hotel to leave your luggage. Begin exploring Yangon's colonial city centre, including Mahabandoola Park and the Town Hall near Sule Pagoda, which dates back over 2,000 years. Then visit Bogyoke Aung San Market (Scott Market) for souvenir shopping (closed on Mondays), and Chaukhtatgyi, a large reclining Buddha image. In the afternoon, visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, made famous by Rudyard Kipling and one of Myanmar's most sacred places. The large bell-shaped stupa is plated with gold, and its tip is set with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. After a photo stop at Karaweik Hall, a floating barge in the shape of a hamsa bird on Kandawgyi Lake, you board a boat on the lake, where the Shwedagon Pagoda is reflected in the water. We drive back to the hotel at sunset. Overnight at the hotel.

After an early breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight to Bagan. On arrival, begin your Bagan tour with a visit to the busy Nyaung U Market. Learn about Bagan's history at its archaeological sites, such as the Shwezigon Pagoda, with its bell-shaped stupa, and the Htilominlo Temple, with its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decoration. See a demonstration of the traditional craft of lacquerware by a skilled artisan. See the mural paintings, protected by UNESCO, at the Myinkaba Gubyaukgyi Temple, and watch the sunset from the Shwesandaw Pagoda. Overnight in Bagan.

After breakfast at the hotel, visit the Nanpaya Temple, known for its fine masonry and interior design. It reflects the strong Brahmin influence on the Theravada Mon kings. Note the relief of the god Brahma, with three visible faces, all with typical Mon features. These are said to represent King Manuha. The temple is sometimes called the Ganesh or Mahapeine Temple, after the elephant-headed Hindu god whose image once stood at the corners of its five rectangular terraces, each smaller than the one below. In the afternoon, sightseeing continues at temples where many old murals and friezes can still be seen, along with several old horoscopes painted to protect the buildings from damage. Then visit the Ananda Temple, built in 1091 and considered the masterpiece of Mon architecture. In the evening, board a local boat for a slow sunset cruise on the Irrawaddy River, where you can see the daily life of fishermen and riverside villagers and view Bagan's temples from the water. Overnight in Bagan.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Nyaung U airport for the flight to Mandalay. From Mandalay airport, drive to the ancient capital of Amarapura, the City of Immortality. Visit Bagaya Monastery, with its well-known collection of Buddha images, the local weaving industry, and the two-century-old U Bein teak bridge on Taungthaman Lake. At Mahagandayon Monastery, watch thousands of monks take their last meal of the day at 10:00 am in complete silence. Continue to Mandalay and check in to the hotel. After a rest, take a sightseeing tour of Mandalay, including the Mahamuni, a lifelike Buddha image. Mandalay was the last royal capital of Myanmar, which makes it the best place to see traditional arts and crafts. Visit a gold leaf workshop to see gold leaf being made by hand in the traditional way. Continue to the Old Palace grounds; Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as the world's largest book for its 729 marble slabs inscribed with the Buddha's teachings; and the Golden Palace Monastery, known for its fine wood carvings. End the day with a panoramic view of the city from Mandalay Hill. Overnight at the hotel.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Heho on the Shan plateau. On arrival, drive to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to Inle Lake. See the leg-rowing fishermen and the floating gardens, built from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the lake bed with bamboo poles. Visit Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery, which houses dozens of Shan Buddha images. Continue to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake's main sanctuary, which contains five sacred Buddha images covered in gold leaf. Learn about the local crafts of Inle Lake at a cheroot workshop, where traditional Burmese cigars are made by hand. We can also visit a local silk-weaving workshop, built on stilts over the lake, where old-style hand looms are still used. Overnight at Inle Lake.

After breakfast at the hotel, visit Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery, which houses dozens of Shan Buddha images. Continue to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake's main sanctuary, which contains five sacred Buddha images covered in gold leaf. Learn about the local crafts of Inle Lake at a cheroot workshop, where traditional Burmese cigars are made by hand. We can also visit a local silk-weaving workshop, built on stilts over the lake, where old-style hand looms are still used. The day continues with a visit to Indein village and its 17th-century pagodas. Indein is a small village on the western shore of Inle Lake. A Buddha image is enshrined in a whitewashed stupa on the summit of a hill. Around the hill below the stupa are hundreds of ancient stupas, most of them ruins overgrown with bushes. The pagoda hill is quiet and calm, with a cool breeze and the sound of the bells hanging from the stupa's umbrella, and there is a wide view from the top. Indein lies at the end of the Indein creek, which joins Inle Lake just after Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. The creek is narrow, with many twists and turns. There are paddy fields on both sides, where you can see farmers ploughing and harrowing with water buffaloes. In many places the farmers dam the water with bamboo barriers to irrigate the fields. The creek water is used not only for irrigation but also for bathing and washing clothes, and you will often see novice monks, boys with buffaloes, and village girls washing and swimming in the creek. Overnight at Inle Lake.

After breakfast at the hotel, you have some free time to walk around before your transfer to Heho airport for the flight to Yangon International Airport, where you connect with your onward flight. End of services.