Colorful Myanmar

On arrival in Myanmar, you’ll be met by your private guide, who will accompany you to your hotel. If you’re keen to hit the ground running, take a late afternoon trip up Mandalay Hill to explore the pagodas and temples, and enjoy panoramic sunset views. Alternatively, soak up the atmosphere at the evening vegetable market and sample a cold Burmese beer with the locals.

Spend the day taking in the city’s key sites on a personalised guided programme. We recommend a morning visit to the eclectic stalls at Zaycho Market, and to read extracts from Buddhist stone tablets at Kuthodaw Pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill. Watch an endless stream of devotees add gold leaf to the Mahamuni Buddha at Mahamuni Paya, and marvel at the intricate teak carvings in the former Royal Palace of Shwe Nan Daw. Your afternoon will be at leisure until you set off to the iconic U Bein teak bridge to watch the sun set – a popular event with both locals and tourists, so get there early to secure your spot! Your evening will be at leisure to investigate Mandalay’s burgeoning restaurant scene, and your guide will be happy to offer.

Set out for Monywa, around 80 miles north-west of Mandalay, stopping en route at the Boditahaung Pagoda, where over one thousand sacred Bodhi trees each shade a Buddha image and, on a nearby hillside, an impressive 420 ft high Buddha image stands beside another huge 325 ft long statue – the largest reclining Buddha image in Myanmar. On arrival in Monywa, head straight for the Thanboddhay Pagoda: a grand temple that houses in excess of half a million Buddha images, and bears a close resemblance to Indonesia’s Borobudur. Take a tour of the city centre, learn about lacquerware in nearby Kyaukka village, and complete your temple tour with a visit to the Shwe Gu Ni Pagoda.

Take a morning drive out to Po Win Taung caves, to see a jaw-dropping 947 richly decorated sandstone caverns, believed to have been formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. Today, this area contains what many consider to be the finest collection of mural paintings and Buddhist statues in South-East Asia, some dating back as far as the 14th Century. After exploring the caves, continue a few hundred metres to Shwe Ba Hill, to see beautifully decorated monasteries and temples which have been sculpted from the natural sandstone and volcanic rocks. Return to Monywa, where the remainder of your day will be at leisure to explore this lesser-visited city.

Travel to Pakokku, an old trading town where colonial influence is still apparent in the architecture and atmosphere. Pakokku trades timber and toddy palm sugar from its crucial position between the Yaw and Chindwin rivers, and is a useful transit point for travelling through north-central Myanmar. Visit the open-air market, which sells vegetables, fruit, handicrafts and textiles; continue to the ornate Thiho Shin pagoda; and pause at a thanaka market, where local women buy this distinctive cosmetic paste made from ground thanaka bark. Tour a cheroot factory in the town, observe wood carving and slipper-making workshops, then continue on to the unique Kyaukgu Umin cave tunnel, carved into a sandstone cliff, to see the huge statue and unfinished murals depicting scenes from Buddha’s life. Finally, hope aboard a boat to cruise along the Ayeyarwady River to Bagan, where the remainder of your day will be at leisure.

Set out pre-dawn to one of Bagan’s viewing mounds to watch the sun rise over the temple-studded plains. Our favourite mound is north-east of Dhammayangyi, with views over the lake on one side, and sweeping panoramas of the ancient capital’s landscape on the other. After a hotel breakfast, head out again for your temple tour. Choosing which of the myriad temples to visit is never easy, and in true Selective Asia style we can recommend a gem or two that are off the traditional trail. Later, learn about traditional lacquerware craft, then follow your guide’s recommendations to lunch at a local eatery. In the afternoon, perhaps visit the Ananda temples, where 1424 Buddhas are mounted in the walls, and the Shwezigon Pagoda with its golden stupa. Enjoy a temple sunset, or return to your hotel for a well earned sundowner.

Fly out early from Nyaung U Airport to Heho, and travel through the remarkably scenic landscape on the approach to Kalaw, where the remainder of the day will at leisure to settle into the region’s serene pace.

Spend a day trekking in the forested hills, past a number of Pa-O community villages, where cheroot-smoking is still a strong tradition. Start with a 2 hour walk through the undulating green countryside, punctuated with fields of corn, potatoes and ginger, displaying the diverse agriculture which forms the main income in the region. Enjoy lunch at the village of Htun Gone before trekking for a further couple of hours, taking in stunning views of the Shan Mountain Range, to the Htee Tein village, where your base for the night will be the village monastery. Eat an early supper in the monastery, home to a small group of novice monks, and spend the night in the monastic compound.

Wake early as the monastery comes to life, with the monks gathering for their morning prayers, and embark on the last leg of your trek to Inle Lake. Pass through Pa-O minority villages and farmland, where you might catch sight of the locals at work plowing the fields or harvesting crops. After an hour or so, you’ll see the shimmering expanse of Inle Lake appear in the distance. Break for lunch at Than Daung village, and walk the last 30 minutes to the jetty to board a boat out onto Inle Lake. Enjoy a leisurely cruise, resting your post-trek legs, until arriving at your resort, where the remainder of your day will be at leisure to gaze at the lake and enjoy another of Myanmar’s spectacular sunsets.

Get straight out on the water, cruising south along the western bank as far as In Dein and Ywama. Navigate up a narrow canal to a small Pa O village, disembark at the central marketplace, and follow the path to a 13th century monastery. Emerging from the deep vegetation covering this relatively untouched landscape, you’ll see the impressive ruins of over a hundred ancient pagodas. Climb up to the main stupa on a hilltop, and pause to enjoy sensational views over the surrounding mountains and down towards distant Inle Lake. Return to the lake and transfer back to your resort, where rest of your day will be at leisure to relax and soak up the unique atmosphere of the lake.

Start the day’s journey by private boat, travelling for around four and a half hours by lake and river to Phekhon, from where you’ll continue to Loikaw by road. Once there, spend time in the local monastery and nunnery, and drink in stunning sunset views from Thirimingala Pagoda (Taung Kwe Zedi).

Begin your exploration of Loikaw by visiting Haw Nan Monastery, built during WWI by the Chief of Kayah, which is one of the oldest buildings in Kayah State, and still a working monastery. Leaving Loikaw behind, head to the settlement of Pan Pet,to gain insight into the life and culture of the world famous Padaung tribal community. Continue to the hamlet of Penmasong to embark upon a moderately challenging uphill trek to Rang Ku village, as your guide share some of the stories recited by the community’s jungle leader, and points out various edible and medicinal plants that grow here. Your reward at the summit will be a rarely photographed view of Pan Pet and its natural surrounds. Once you’ve taken it all in, set off back downhill to spend time with the locals in Rang Ku, before returning to Loikaw.

Visit morning market in Loikaw then drive to Heho airport to fly to Yangon by afternoon flight .

Explore Yangon where your day will be at leisure until an afternoon visit to the magnificent 2,000 year old Shwedagon Pagoda – one of the most significant religious sites in Myanmar. Explore the surrounding shrines as the city’s residents make their daily prayers at this incredible landmark, and investigate the makeshift food markets that spring up as night draws in. In the evening, continue to Mahabandoola Park and the Independence Monument to look out over the city’s grand Colonial buildings. Wander along the banks of the Yangon River to see more historic architecture, including the literary Strand Hotel, once home to the likes of Orwell, Kipling and Somerset Maugham. Tour down 41st street and mingle with the locals over a cup of sweet chai in a traditional teashop.