Myanmar Off Beaten Track 10 days

Welcome to Myanmar! When you arrive at Yangon International Airport, our tour guide and driver will welcome you and take you to hotel to check-in. Please kindly note that the hotel rooms will be ready at 14:00 hrs. The early check-in will be guaranteed with a surcharge.  

This evening, you will enjoy welcomed dinner at Padonmar Restaurant. After dinner, you will come back to hotel.

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• Shwedagon Pagoda 001

After breakfast, driver picks up you at hotel then take you to the airport for the flight to Heho.

Upon arrival, driver welcomes you at airport then directly driving to Pindaya. Here, we will visit Pindaya Cave, is the natural limestone cave and Shwe U Min Paya which is full of Buddha images of about 8000. Then, we continue the picturesque Boutaloke Lake and visit local handicraft workshop in which making traditional Shan Paper and Umbrella.

In the late afternoon, we take a fresh breath and photo stop for beautiful big banyan trees at the base of the Pindaya Hill. Then, we continue drive to Kalaw and it is a former colonial British hill station on the western edge of the Shan Plateau in Myanmar and it is cool during the day and cold at night. There are many hiking trails amid gnarled pines and bamboo groves. Palaung Tribe Village is also famous for trekking and a narrow valley where the Palaung cultivate cheroot, tea, damsons and mangoes on the hill. In the evening, we transfer to hotel in Kalaw.

After breakfast, we drive to Elephant camp in Magwe village. Upon arrival, we take around 05 minutes walking to get light refreshment, continue to the river where elephant bath and you can join in feeding and bathing the elephants. It’s a great chance to see elephant families down in the valley with their bamboo houses. It’s a great chance to explore the forest area on elephant back, to see butterflies, birds and orchids around our conservation area. Lunch is served elephant camp and then you are free to explore the surrounding area with our local trekking guide. You are also welcome to join us by planting regional trees from our nursery in our forest recovery efforts. After that, we return to main camp by foot (10-20 mins) and drive back to Kalaw. Overnight in Kalaw.

After breakfast, you will pack your bag and get ready for 4 days trekking. We begin our tour by driving out of Kalaw for 10 minutes and arrive to trek starting point. Let’s feel the morning fresh air as we walk across pine forest. After walking through protected sub-tropical forest of Kalaw “Ye Aye Gan” where there are variety of bird species and biodiversity, we arrive to a beautiful lake in the middle of the forest. Here, we enjoy the beauty of forest and pleasant breeze.

We continue our journey to have lunch at the top of the mountain with great panoramic view. We walk for an hour from top of mountain ridge with wide panoramic view and arrive to village of Palaug tribes. Mountain Tribes of Shan State survive on green tea, banana, orange, jack fruit and rice plantations. They are Tibet-burman origins live traditionally in one bamboo long house with over 12 families with interesting traditions like arranged marriages. Then, we trek around the protected forest and arrive to Danu tribes village call Myin Dike. We stay overnight at this beautiful and welcoming family home or monastery.

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• Water Buffalo Along Dokthawaddy River

Today, we begin our morning with the sound of village life by the sun rise and have traditional Danu breakfast. After 1.5 hour walking, we arrive at a village of Danu tribe village at the top of mountain by passing through spring water sources along the way. Danu tribes are same ethnic family as Shan. We walk around the village and enjoy the stunning bird eye view from the rock cliff. We could see beautiful rice terraces and valley filled with small villages. Lunch is served at a peaceful monastery in the middle of pine forest. After lunch, we walk on the top of the of the mountain ridge where you have great views on both left and right side. We walk through vast green grass lands and patchy farm lands of rice, chilly and bright yellow flower of sesame plantations. It looks like a painting really. We arrive at the village of Pa-O Tribes family home for overnight. After dinner, we spend the late evening sit around wood fire cooking place inside the family home or monastery.

Trekking distance: around 4 hours trekking

Today, we enjoy the stunning sun rise while the valley are still covered in mist. It really is a magical view. The delicious breakfast is cooked by our chef cook. After we walk down the mountains with small hills starting to appear in front of us as sun shine clears the mist. After 1.5 hours trekking, we arrive at Pa-O tribes village call Nan Daing and have a local black tea. This village is well known for it’s once every five days rotating market where all the hill tribes come down to trade, buy or sell. This colorful market is filled with vegetables, dried fish, black smith man and very lively place. Pa-O tribes of Mongolian origins have very beautiful traditional costumes and interesting cultures. They believe in Animist and Buddhist. They are very productive and hardworking people too. After a short break, we continue our journey for 2 hours then arrive to a magnificent Buddhist Monastery near a village surrounded by Bamboo forest. It is a old wooden monastery with over 15 monks studying Buddhism. We enjoy our lunch there and have a rest. After a small nap, we take small paths through hills and valleys. We meet with the farmers harvesting rice along the way and wave each other. We cross the lively river over by a bamboo bridge. This is a important river flowing into the inle lake. After sometimes of walking, we could see beautiful limestone mountain range in front of us. We take a sacred gap to cross to the other side of the mountain. We arrive at a beautiful Pa-O Monastery and we stay overnight at family home or peaceful Monastery.

Trekking distance: Around 5.5 hours trekking

Today, we wake up by the Monks chanting in early morning. We enjoy the peacefulness while having breakfast and get ready for next 4.5 hours trekking through villages of Pa-O tribes, mostly descending down to Inle Lake. Here, we enjoy the great view of inle lake from top of the mountain and Meet the tribal people coming back from Inle lake after selling their crops and buy fish and things they need for children back home. After we arrive at Indein village, lunch is served. Then we take a relaxing boat ride along the rive and into the big lake. During the boat trip, we will see villages along the river side and enjoy the comfort of this relaxing boat ride to hotel in Inle lake.Free time for the rest of day.

After breakfast, we start our morning visit to one of the 5 Days rotation market (only on market day) and sightseeing for magical Inle Lake, which is located 1328 meters above sea level and 22 km long and 11 km wide. The highlights today include the fisherman rowing in the onelegged style characteristic of Inle Lake boatmen and the gardens of grass and earth floating on the surface of this shallow lake used for growing vegetables. Besides the enjoyment of the scenery, we can also visit the holiest religious site Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, Silk Weaving Village of Inphawkhon, Burmese Cats House, Cheroot making and other cottage industries. Then, we visit to Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery, a beautiful old teak wood building before coming back to hotel.

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• Inle Lake Benroer

After breakfast, we drive to Heho airport for domestic flight back to Yangon. Upon arrival, tour guide picks up at airport and start the tour sightseeing to visit to the old colonial-style city center with city hall, Mahabandoola Park with Independence Monument, Strand road and Yangon Jetty by Car (if time permit, you can observe and take a rest for drinking tea or coffee at Colonial building Strand Hotel (5 star hotel). Then we continue visit to Botahtaung Pagoda and Ahma Mya Nan Nwe, a devotee to the Botahtaung Pagoda. She was known to be a dragon guarding the pagoda and Bogyoke Aung San (Scott) Market, is the most popular market (close on every Monday & Public holiday) and where you can buy luxury item, handicrafts, food stuff, clothing, jewelry, fashion and consumer goods. In the afternoon, the tour visit to Chaukhtatgyi (Reclining Buddha) Pagoda a colossal reclining Buddha and continue visit to Karaweik Hall Royal barge on the Royal lake for photo stop and world famous Shwedagon Pagoda. We witness the golden dome light up sunshine at the sunset. Overnight at Yangon hotel.

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• Dhammayangyi Temple

Breakfast at hotel, free time until driver picks up at lobby and tranfer to Yangon international airport for your next flight.