The Beauty of Bagan

(6 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Yangon, Bagan

This tour, focusing on the awe-inspiring temple complex of Bagan, suits travelers with limited time in Burma. Begin in the capital, Yangon (Rangoon). Stay at the famed Strand Hotel, a British colonial period hotel with teak windows, marble floors, rattan chairs and lacquer ceiling fans. With your private guide, tour the Shwedagon Pagoda, a 300-foot tall golden Buddhist reliquary and the city's most spectacular landmark, the sprawling Bogyoke (Scott) Market and the National Museum. Visit neighborhoods that reflect Yangon's Burmese, British, Indian, Bangladeshi and indigenous influences.

Next, fly to unforgettable, awe-inspiring Bagan, where thousands of pagodas and temples stretch from the Ayeyarwady River out across miles of arid plains. Spend three days touring the structures, built between the 11th and 13th centuries when Bagan was a major Buddhist center of Southeast Asia, and learn about the history carved in their layered facades, painted in their interior frescoes and sculpted in their Buddhist statues. Also visit local markets and villages. If desired, take a memorable hot air balloon ride over the temples as the sun rises. One evening, ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Bagan at sunset. Another night, take a sunset cruise on the river. If desired, also visit Mt. Popa, a place of pilgrimage for over 700 years that is believed to be the home of Myanmar’s powerful nats, or Burmese spirits associated with natural features.

The tour concludes with a night in Yangon in the lovely Governor's Residence, a restored Burmese teak mansion set in lotus gardens.