Cultural Highlights of Burma

(10 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Yangon, Kyaiktiyo, Bago, Bagan, Pindaya, Inle Lake

This tour visits the highlights of Burma and off the beaten track, taking a side excursion from Yangon to Kyaiktiyo and Bago. Begin in Yangon. With your private guide, tour the Shwedagon Pagoda—the city's most spectacular landmark — a 300-foot tall golden Buddhist reliquary and compound, the bustling Bogyoke (Scott) Market, and the National Museum. Visit neighborhoods that reflect Yangon's Burmese, British, Indian, Bangladeshi and indigenous influences.

Next, drive to one of the country's most important Buddhist sites, the Golden Rock of Kyaiktiyo, a huge, gold leaf-covered boulder perched on the summit of a peak - the shrine on top is said to contain a hair of the Buddha. Continue to Bago, the 15th century capital of the Mon Kingdom, to see the highly venerated Shwemawdaw Pagoda—Burma's tallest. Also visit the Shwethalyaung Buddha, a 55-foot long reclining Buddha.

Next, fly to unforgettable, awe-inspiring Bagan, where thousands of pagodas and temples stretch from the Ayeyarwady River out across miles of arid plains. Tour 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. 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.

Continue to Inle Lake, home of the Intha people. Take a canoe ride down Inle's canals, pass through floating villages built on stilts, and see how the Intha grow crops on reed islands. In nearby Pindaya, venture into limestone caverns to see over eight thousand Buddha statues set among stalagmites. Visit local crafts villages to shop for distinctive textiles, ceramics and lacquerware, and tour In Dein, where ancient pagodas overlook the Lake. Spend a final night in Yangon in the lovely Governor's Residence, a restored Burmese teak mansion set in lotus gardens, before departing Burma.