Essential Myanmar exploration

Upon arrival in Yangon airport, Authentik Travel’s tour guide and driver will welcome you and transfer to hotel in the city center.
After tour briefing,  enjoy a welcome dinner at a finest local restaurant.
Overnight in Yangon.

Enjoy a full day tour to discover this charming city. 
Starting from your hotel, visit the colonial style buildings. Walk along the streets to enjoy the beauty of these historic buildings, built last century and following British architecture. Then, visit the famous landmarks in the city such as Sule Pagoda, built in the 3rd century and located right in the city center.

The next landmark is Botahtaung pagoda by the grand Yangon River. According to the locals, the pagoda was built over 2000 years ago and enshrined by the sacred relics of the Buddha.
Enjoy lunch at a recommended local restaurant.

After lunch, explore the Chaukhtatgyi Buddha temple which houses one of the most revered reclining Buddha images in the country. It is the most well-known Buddhist temple in Bahan township of Yangon and is also one of the biggest Buddhas in Myanmar. The reclining Buddha image is 66 meters long and was built during the 1900's.
In the late afternoon, visit Scott market or Bogyoke market (closed on Monday) selling the medicines, foodstuffs, garments, electrics, souvenirs, jewelry, and art to witness the local way of life. 

Follow this with a visit to the 2500 year old magnificent Shwedagon pagoda, the most famous and sacred place of Myanmar. In the middle is a huge bell shaped stupa, plated with tons of gold and thousands of diamonds and rubies decorating the top of the stupa. The pagoda is surrounded by other shrines, temples and many other religious structures inside it. The sunset from the Pagoda should not be missed.
Stay overnight in Yangon.

Take morning flight to Heho.

On arrival at Heho airport, meet our tour guide and driver for a two hour transfer to Pindaya. This drive will offer you delightful scenery of the hill station region, passing by the picturesque landscapes along the way. Take a break at the big Banyan trees near the Pindaya caves to relax ad take photos, then take a look inside the Pindaya caves to see the Buddha images dating back to the 18th century and beautiful stalagmite and stalactite formations.

The next stop is the traditional umbrella making village to see how local people make a perfect umbrella. 
Transfer back to Heho and continue to Kalaw highland town.
On arrival, check in at your hotel and take a walk around the town to indulge the fresh mountain air .
Stay overnight in Kalaw.

Our tour guide will meet you at hotel and take you to Paulaung tribe village. It will take approximately a 1 hour trek from Kalaw. Then move to the Pauluang hills in Kalaw sub area.
Continue trekking to the hill clan village to discover their culture and daily life. 
Enjoy a picnic lunch, then trek back to Kalaw in the afternoon and meet our driver for a transfer to Inle Lake.

Arrive in Nyangshwe town by the bank of the lake, check in to your hotel and relax.
Stay overnight in Nyangshwe town.
Note: Overnight stays at the resort on Inle Lake are available at your request.

After breakfast, embark on a boat trip in the huge lake to enjoy the beautiful landscapes and see the local Intha people working on the lake.
They skillfully stand and row the boat with 1 leg, a truly unique way to row a boat.

Pass the floating gardens on the lake and listen as the guide tells you about the lifestyle, culture and how they cultivate their vegetation as well as the way they catch fish in the lake with their traditional traps.
Explore the Nampan villages at the end of Inle Lake and visit their traditional handicraft villages such as silk weaving lotus,cigarette and boat making as well as the blacksmith village.
Return to Nyaungshwe town and stay overnight.
Note: An overnight stay at the resort on Inle Lake is available on request.

Get picked up from your hotel and visit a 5 day rotational local market. This is the most fascinating way to explore the daily life of the ethnic minority groups. Continue the boat trip to Indein Pagoda. The boat will leave the lake and enter a small canal. After 30 minutes, arrive in Pa O tribe village. From the village, take a walk through the old cover path to hundreds of pagoda ruins. The main stupa on top of the hill offers gorgeous views over the surrounding mountain ranges and the lake in distance.

Walk back to the jetty and embark on the boat to the Lake.  On the way, make stop at the long neck women's village and their silk shop, Phaung Daw OO pagoda (Jumping Cat pagoda) before returning to your hotel in Nyangshwe town and transfer to airport for short flight to Mandalay.

Upon arrival, get a pick to hotel
Overnight in Mandalay.

Have breakfast at your hotel and meet our tour guide for a transfer to Mandalay jetty and take a boat trip along the Ayeyarwaddy River up to Mingun in the North.  After a 1 hour journey, arrive in Mingun and enjoy a short walk to visit the must-see highlights of the region: 

First, Pahtodawgyi temple, a gigantic, uncompleted monument. You can climb up one hundred steps to the top of the temple and get a great view of  the Ayeyarwaddy River and the surrounding area.The next destination, Mingun bell, is just a couple of minutes walk away. This is a huge bell weighing 90 tons and is currently the second biggest ringing bell in the world.
Next, a short walk will lead us to Hsinbyume Pagoda, built in 1816 by King Bagyidaw, and dedicated to his wife. He named the pagoda following his wife’s name.

Return to the boat and head back to the city for lunch and explore some of the most outstanding cultural and historical sites. Visit Mahamuni Pagoda, a marble sculpture, to see how local people make Buddha statues from marble, the gold leaf making center, and the Shwenandaw monastery, or Golden Monastery, well known for its great wood carvings. Also, visit Kuthodaw pagoda, known as the biggest book in the world, with 729 marble slabs inscribed with the Buddha’s doctrine. Take in the beautiful sunset from the top of Mandalay hill and stay overnight in Mandalay.
 

Discover Sagaing hill where a lot of Buddhist monasteries are situated. Sagaing is a hill terrace, so from this site you can view the great Ayeyarwaddy River, and Mandalay city with its numerous temples and monasteries. The major attraction on Sagaing hill is U Min Thoze pagoda.
The next stop will be Inwa, separated by a small river. It is necessary to take a ferry across the river then on arrival, take a horse-drawn cart to enjoy the beautiful rural scenery. The horse-drawn cart will take you to Bagaya wooden monastery, Nanmyint watch tower (a leaning tower) and the brick Aungmyaybonza monastery.

Transfer back to Amarapura to visit the silk weaving village and enjoy a gentle walk along Ubein Bridge, the longest teakwood bridge in the world, to capture the awesome sunset. 
Transfer to your hotel in the late afternoon and stay overnight in Mandalay.

After your breakfast at your hotel. Enjoy a drive to Monywa.
On arrival, take a visit to Thanbuddhyi Pagoda, the highest and biggest standing Buddha statue in Myanmar, home to more than 500,000 images of Buddha inside. Next, visit the Hiaungdawmu Buddha, the second largest reclining Buddha in Myanmar.

Check in hotel in Monywa and take a rest.
Overnight in Monywa.

Have breakfast before transferring to Bagan in the morning. Once out of the city, we will visit the cave chambers of Pho Win Daung and Shwe Ba Daung. The Po Win Hills house a system of 500 sandstone caves including around 450,000 paintings, statues and carvings. This is an impressive place, worth the visit before a long day of driving to Bagan.
Arrive in Pakokku and enjoy a 2 hour boat trip along the Ayeyarwaddy River. Get picked up from Bagan jetty and move to your hotel.
Stay overnight in Bagan.
 

Head to Swhezigon pagoda before the hottest part of the day. This is the gold plated pagoda built to house the Buddhist relic brought from India a thousand years ago.
The next stop is a short visit to discover Nyaung U market. A bustling market where locals meet to exchange fruits, vegetables, lacquerware and  pottery.
After the market, visit Gubyaukgyi Temple, famous for its mural. Our guide will translate the great story from the ancient pictures on the wall.

Enjoy lunch on our own and relax at your hotel.
In the afternoon, visit the Ananda temples built in 1105 AD, home to four standing Buddhas, each one facing the cardinal directions of North, West, East and South.  Then visit Htilominlo temple to admire the four Buddhas that face each direction. 
End of the day at Shwesandaw temple and enjoy the sunset over the mountains.
Stay overnight in Bagan.
 

Get up early to feel the cool climate and enjoy the sunrise in Bagan.
Have breakfast at your hotel and meet our tour guide for a full day visit to a monastery atop Mt.Popa, 50km away from Bagan plain.

Southwest of Mt.Popa is Taung Kalat, with another Monastery on top of Taung Kalat hill. Climb 777 steps to reach the summit of Taung Kalat and take in the panoramic view of the huge plain and the ancient city of Bagan. After a visit to the monastery, climb down and transfer to a restaurant for your own lunch in the Mt Popa resort which offers great views of Mt Popa.
In the afternoon, drive back to Bagan, stopping on the way to visit a cottage industry village. Taste the regional products and learn how they make the brown sugar from the juice of palm trees.
Back to Bagan, observe the local way of life in the West Pwazaw and Minnanthu village to see how Burmese people live their daily lives. It is a real exploration into the local rural life.
Overnight in Bagan.

Have breakfast at your hotel and spend a whole day exploring this mysterious region. 
Begin the day with a journey on a horse cart to Manuha temple, which contains three images of seated Buddhas and an image of Buddha entering Nirvana.  This is one of the oldest temples in Bagan.  Discover the famous traditional handicraft lacquerware in the Myinkabar village then move to Dhamayangyi Pagoda, the biggest temple in Bagan, before continuing to Myauk Guni, Sulamani temple.

Transfer to airport for flight to Yangon.
On arrival, pick up to hotel.
Overnight in Yangon.

Enjoy your last minutes in the city on your own till meet our driver for a transfer to airport for your flight home or your next destinations.

Tour ends.