Spiritual Shwedagon Pagoda - Half day On this interactive half-day tour we take you on an off-beat adventure, not just to see Yangon’s spiritual Shwedagon Pagoda, but to experience the daily lives of people living in the community around this impressive monument. Learn about the history of Shwedagon and come out with a deeper insight into Myanmar’s Buddhism and how animist beliefs in spirits still play a part in Buddhist rituals and ceremonies. We begin this intriguing tour at the bottom of the hill and wend our way to the top through bustling streets, passing local businesses, workshops, markets and temples – all of which play an essential role in the upkeep and worship of Shwedagon Pagoda. The tour includes a traditional Burmese breakfast, offerings to the monks and the pagoda, a visit to a traditional fortune teller, and a Burmese lunch. This tour includes a contribution to local charity initiatives. Yangon Colonial Heritage Walk - Half day On this heritage walk, discover the highlights of downtown Yangon, where you will find some of Asia’s most impressive examples of late 19th and early 20th century architecture, dating from the British colonial era. Starting after breakfast or lunch, this walking tour will take you back in time to discover these beautifully constructed monuments to colonialism, some of which have been neglected, while others have been purposefully restored. Stop off at the abandoned Ministers’ Building, formerly known as The Secretariat, where the ‘Father of the Nation’, General Aung San, started the path to independence. Built in 1889, this impressive building and its gardens take up a whole block in the downtown area. After the tour you will have time to enjoy some refreshing drinks at Gekko, a stylish and popular restaurant and lounge bar on the ground floor of the historic Sofaer Building.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Cloud 10 Hotel

Your guide and car will pick up at your hotel to transfer airport for your flight to Nyaung U (RGN- NYU AM flight). Upon arrival at Nyaung U airport, meet with your guide and driver for sightseeing. This is Bagan: A Journey through the Centuries - Full day Your guide will meet you with a private car and driver for an activity-packed day that will take you to experience the wonders of Bagan, visiting some of the best-known temple ruins in the area. You begin by first climbing a hill to see a pagoda for an impressive view and orientation of Old Bagan. From the top, you will see the ancient ruins rising up from the rice plains in every direction. From here, your guide will plan a route in the car to some of the most famous temple ruins that have been here for centuries. Places like the Ananda, Dhammayangyi, Sulamani, and Thatbyinnyu, will leave you in awe of the skills of ancient craftsmen. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant and in the late afternoon you continue by horse and cart to a location where you can catch the setting sun as it slides below the horizon, lighting up gold the prangs and spires of this age-old kingdom. As you contemplate the sinking sun and a bygone age, you will be served a refreshingly cool drink. This tour includes a contribution to local charity initiatives.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Ananta Bagan

Markets, Monasteries and Hidden Cave Temples - Full day This is an ideal excursion, if you have seen most of the major sites, and want to venture a little further afield this time to learn more about the region. Your guide will meet you at your hotel and you’ll travel by private car to the rarely visited Kyauk Gu Ohnmin cave temple, a unique ancient stone and brick structure built against the precipitous side of a deep ravine, with two doorways that lead into dark caverns. We then continue to Pakokku town and visit a local slipper factory, the market, and see where the famous Pakokku cotton blankets are made. A private boat is waiting for you at the jetty in Pakokku for a leisurely boat trip downriver, while lunch is served on-board. In the afternoon you will observe village life in the dry zone and later you will visit a lacquerware workshop in Myinkaba village – Bagan’s most famous shopping zone just south of Old Bagan, where lacquerware has been handcrafted for generations.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Ananta Bagan

Picnic among the ruins at Minnanthu - Half day Your guide will meet you at your hotel and take you by private car to Minnanthu village, a favorite area in Old Bagan for temples among frequent visitors to the region, who know how to avoid the crowds. This is a beautifully peaceful part of Bagan where the temple ruins are often completely deserted. On arrival your guide will spread out a blanket and serve you a tasty picnic lunch, home-cooked by a local family, surrounded by the ancient ruins. You will also have the opportunity to visit several of these sites, either before or after your al fresco luncheon. E-Bike & Temple view swing – half day Bagan is an ancient city of Myanmar - the stunning landscape of ancient temple ruins that seem to be spread around randomly in between toddy palms and bamboo huts. During this half day electric biking tour, the guide will show you some of the most spectacular sceneries of ancient lesser-known temples and the best of all is that you can stop any time, any minute to make some beautiful pictures. At the end of the trip, enjoy the fun thing of swing ride between palms tree while some healthy juices and traditional snacks are served.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Ananta Bagan

Your driver and car will pick up at your hotel to transfer Kalaw approximately drive 5 hours’. Elephant Encounter in the Forests of Kalaw - Full day On this adventurous tour your guide will take you for a rewarding day into the forests surrounding Kalaw, where you will encounter elephants, their mahouts, and people living in the region. Young tourism professionals from Kalaw town decided to set up Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp, a project that is focused on protecting nature, providing care for elephants no longer fit to work, and preserving the traditions of local people living in and around Kalaw – a former hill station that today is popular for trekking. In a large part of this privately protected forest, a natural habitat has been set aside for animals that would otherwise be vulnerable to hunting and poaching. The tour begins with a private car ride to the main camp where the specialized staff will explain the project and the camp's daily activities. A delicious lunch of Nepalese food will then be served to you. In the afternoon, it's time to help the mahouts wash and feed the elephants. You will also be invited to plant a tree, before driving back in the late afternoon to Kalaw town.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Kalaw Heritage Hotel since 1903

Traveling by Train through the Shan Hills to Inle Lake - Half day We bring you to the picturesque colonial train station in Kalaw, a hill station during British colonial rule that today is popular for hiking and trekking. You board the 11:58 train that brings you over the mountains and through the valleys to Inle Lake. This is a unique local experience that will reward you with amazing views and a glimpse of local life in the Shan Hills. Your arrival in Shwenyaung is planned at around 15:20, but could be delayed if the train stops longer than normal in local hill tribe villages to load, or off load, local goods. On arrival in Shwenyaung a transfer is arranged to your hotel. This is a great way to reduce carbon emissions by private vehicles and also a fascinating journey that will give you real insight into the terrain and friendly locals. PM is free & easy

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Thanakha Hotel 3*

A Day on the Lake - Full day Inle Lake in southern Shan State is a vast natural lake surrounded by traditional Shan villages. On the lake itself the Intha people have been living for many centuries in wooden houses built entirely on stilts. Today you will travel by private motorboat around the lake to discover its natural beauty, visiting floating gardens, observing the famous leg rowers in action and enjoying tea at a local family’s home. On and around the lake traditional markets are held in different villages according to a five-day rotating schedule, and on this day you will visit a colorful market frequented by Shan and Pa'O people living nearby. There will also be a chance to see a local workshop where the Burmese cheroot cigars are made. You will make a stop at Phaung Daw U Pagoda, a famous pilgrimage site that is home to five golden Buddha statues. A home-cooked lunch will be served to you during the day at the home of an Intha family, who will be happy to welcome you to their beautiful house on the lake. If time permits, you can also visit a local silk weaving factory. This tour includes a contribution to local charity initiatives.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Thanakha Hotel 3*

Indein Pagoda Ruins and Canoeing on Inle Lake - Half day This half-day tour begins with a visit to Indein Pagoda, a temple with an impressive collection of stupas in the village of Indein, southwest of Inle Lake. Surrounded by wild terrain, hills and mountains, the site seems almost to have grown out of the landscape. You then continue with a walk around Inle Lake, enjoying the fantastic views of this large expanse of water and the rural countryside and farms around. For lunch you will enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal served at the house of an ethnic Intha family, whose people have been living on the lake for many centuries in wooden houses built entirely on stilts. After lunch you continue toward Nam Pan village for a unique boat trip on the lake in a traditional canoe, paddled by the canoe’s owner. After the tour, you return by motorboat to your hotel.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Thanakha Hotel 3*