Tour:

  Myanmar YANGON – BAGO – BAGAN – MANDALAY – MINGUN – HEHO – INLE LAKE – YANGON 11 days / 10 nights Day 1: Arrive Yangon Arrive in Yangon. Welcome by your guides from Nature Dream Travels & Tours with signboard. Transfer to hotel in air-conditioned coach while luggage is taken care of by porters and transported separately. Welcome banner on arrival at hotel and welcome drink while checking-in. Lunch at the hotel. Late afternoon departure from the hotel by the little blue local taxi for a visit of Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest monument with its huge golden stupa covered with 60 tons of pure gold leaf. Dinner with cultural show at hotel. Overnight in Yangon. Day 2: Yangon-Bago (B) After breakfast, Drive to Bago, en route, stop for study Myanmar farmer's life style and daily work. Continue drive to Bago, visit local Market and hight lights including Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Kalayani Sima Ordination Hall and Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha. Lunch at nice local restaurant. Afternoon jeep safari in and around Bago to feel fresh and smile of people. Late afternoon return back to Yangon. Dinner at hotel. Overnight in Yangon.   Day 3: Yangon-Bagan (B) Fly from Yangon to Bagan (estimate time is 50 minutes). On arrival Bagan, welcome by Nature Dream's representative with signboard. Transfer to hotel in air-conditioned coach while luggage is taken care of by porters and transported separately. Welcome banner on arrival at hotel and welcome drink while checking-in. Lunch at a riverside restaurant overlooking the Irrawaddy River. In the afternoon visit a lacquer ware factory and Ananda Temple, one of Bagan's architectural masterpieces. In the late afternoon, transfer to That Byin Nyu Temple for a horse and carriage tour passing among the most impressive temples and pagodas of Bagan. The ride ends, reach at temple for a sunset cocktail party before enjoying sunset over Bagan’s magical temples from its upper terrace. Return to hotel. In the evening "longyi party" is held with a traditional performance. Overnight in Bagan. Day 4: Bagan (B) Breakfast served in the restaurant and at the terrace of the hotel (local breakfasts are presented for visitor's taste). Then we invite you not only to visit the charming Monastery of Taungbi, but also to participate through a food donation to the life of the monastery: You will get a deeper look into the spirituality of Myanmar while spending time with the monks and watch the daily meal being given from your donation. The participants serve all the monks of the monastery rice in their alms bowl. After the donation visit the Shwezigon Pagoda with the magnificent golden stupa. Transfer back to the hotel for international lunch. In the afternoon free time around the swimming pool or visits of the ancient temples of Bagan with guide. Around 16h00 transfer to the Aye Yar jetty to embark a private boat for an unforgettable sunset cruise on the Irrawaddy River with nice views of the rural life along the riverbank. Dinner with Puppet show. Overnight in Bagan.    Day 5: Bagan-Mandalay (B) Breakfast served at the hotel. Transfer to Bagan airport for flight to Mandalay. Proceed by coaches to the hotel and immediate check in. Start sightseeing tour of Mandalay, Myanmar's cultural capital with the Mahamuni Pagoda, famous for its venerable statue of Buddha covered with gold leaf. Each participant will be given 5 gold leaves to put himself on the Buddha statue (according to the custom only men are allowed to touch the statue, women have to ask another man to put the gold leaves on the statue). Burmese lunch at the colonial building of the Green Elephant restaurant. Mandalay has long been known as a centre of skilled craftsmanship and in former times supplied the Royal courts. A visit to the traditional workshops includes crafts as woodcarving, marble masonry and gold leaf making. Visit to the astonishing Shwenandaw Monastery (noted for its exquisite wood carving) and the Kuthawdaw Pagoda (with its 729 marble stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures known as the world biggest book). At the end of the day transfer (by pick-up trucks) to the top of Mandalay Hill and enjoy the sunset over the city. Delicious Myanmar set menu with Cultural dance at hotel's garden and overnight in Mandalay.   Day 6: Mandalay-Mingun Cruise (B) Buffet Breakfast will be served at the hotel. Transfer to the jetty in Mandalay. Embarkation on private chartered boats for a cruise on the Irrawaddy River towards the former capital of Mingun. For your group we chartered the K4 or the K7 of the Inland Water Company; with their over 60 year’s of history these 2 boats were already a legend in the old Burmese Days. After a 1 ½ hour cruise, arrival in Mingun famous for its huge unfinished pagoda which remaining terrace offer amazing views over the river). Visit also the Mingun Bell that was supposed to crown the pagoda and considered as the world largest uncracked ringing bell. Return back to the boat and enjoy a 2 ½ hour cruise over the Irrawaddy River arriving at Shwe Kye Yet jetty opposite Sagaing Hill.A buffet lunch will be served on board of the boat while 3 artists from Mingun will entertain you while demonstrating their skills in their unique razor blade painting. In the evening, Visit beautiful “U Bein” bridge and walk on this very long 200 years old teak bridge built over a peaceful lake. Continue to visit a traditional silk weaving craft workshop. Continue to Ava (formerly known as Inwa): after crossing a river with small chartered ferries discover by little horse cart (2 pax/cart) this former capital from 14th to 18th century visiting the old wooden Bagaya monastery and the remains of the Royal Palace and fort. Cross the beautiful metallic bridge of Ava and visit the holy Sagaing Hill covered with thousand of pagodas. Transfer back to the hotel at the end of the day. Overnight in Mandalay.   Day 7: Mandalay-Heho (B) Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Mandalay international airport for flight to Heho with Air Mandalay or Yangon Airways (40 min flight). Estimated flight schedule: Dep 08h10 / Arr 08h50. From Heho, enjoy a scenic drive to Pindaya through the picturesque countryside. On arrival visit Pindaya’s limestone cave with its maze of chambers displaying more than 8,000 Buddha statues. After lunch at a local hotel, depart together with several local trekking guides for a three hours trek up to the beautiful mountains surrounding Pindaya. The Palaung are animists and are thought to be the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar. They still follow the same traditional lifestyle and earn a living by cultivating seasonal crops as well as growing the leaves used to produce the ubiquitous Burmese cigar, the cheroot. Stop by several traditional minority villages on the way for an interesting introduction into the ancestral traditions and way of life of these proud people. Arrive at Yasakyi village in the late afternoon. Welcome tea and greetings from the monks at the monastery. In the evening, join our Palaung party with local Palaung specialities served around a large bonfire followed by a music and dance performance by the local people dressed up in their tribal clothes. All the villagers living around the monastery join in. There is normally no electricity at the monastery but a generator will be transported to the monastery especially for the group. Comfortable bedding for the group with individual mattresses, pillows, sleeping sheets and mosquito nets are also provided. Overnight at Yasakyi Monastery.   Day 8: Yasakhi Monastery–Pindaya-Inle Lake (B) An early morning wake up call and after a traditional Palaung breakfast at the monastery, start the two and a half hour trek down to Pindaya by a different route passing by several villages inhabited by another ethnic group, the Danu. On arrival at Pindaya Market, transfer by traditional horse and carriage to the hotel. Rooms are available on day use to change and shower. After lunch at the hotel, transfer by road to Inle Lake, one of Myanmar's best known sights. On arrival at Nyaung Shwe village, proceed to the jetty and transfer by motor boat to the lakeside hotel for a Shan welcome ceremony with hotel staff dressed in traditional costume and playing drums and gongs. Welcome signboard, and Shan tea served by PaO ladies. Dinner and overnight at Inle Lake.   Day 9: Inle Lake (B) After breakfast visit Inle Lake by boat. Traveling on Inle Lake is an exhilarating experience for nature lovers and a chance to observe the unique traditions of the Intha people like the leg-rowing fishermen and the floating gardens built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles. Visit In Dein, a newly opened area with old stupas mysteriously covered by vegetation. The tour also features Ywama, a floating village and the lake’s downtown where a floating market is held every five days, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the main shrine on the lake, and local handicraft industries. Proceed to the famous Resort hotel, built on stilts in the middle of the lake to experience the spectacular leg-rowing boat race, organized especially by Nature Dream. In the afternoon, proceed to the floating Intha village where the initiation ceremony called Shin Pyu in Burmese will be organized the next morning. The group will be split into smaller groups to meet their "Godsons", the young boys they are sponsoring, in their family homes. Return to the hotel by late afternoon. In the evening enjoy a Shan party by the lakeside. Overnight at Inle Lake.   Day 10: Inle Lake (Shin Pyu Ceremony)–Heho-Yangon (B) After breakfast, participants leave the hotel wearing their traditional Shan clothes to take part in the initiation ceremony for young boys to become novice monks. This is a rare opportunity to attend what is the most important step in the life of most Burmese people and gain an insight into the fascinating Buddhist religion. The group will witness all the stages of the ceremony. Lunch at the monastery. In the afternoon, transfer to Heho Airport for the flight back to Yangon. On arrival, transfer to hotel and after a welcome drink, there is time free to prepare for the farewell dinner. Overnight in Yangon.   Day 11: Depart Yangon (B) After breakfast a fleet of microbuses and guides will be available outside the hotel for guests who would like to do some last minute shopping, transfer to the airport for onward flight

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