MANDALAY AND BEYOND TOUR


Overview		Itinerary		Rates		Make Booking

ITINERARY

DAY1 : MANDALAY
Mandalay Sightseeing in Mandalay The last capital of royal Burma, Mandalay is still one of the largest cities in Myanmar, and a cultural and spiritual center. Neighboring Sagaing is home to over sixty percent of the country’s monks, while the artisans of Mandalay continue to turn out the finest crafts in Myanmar. In the morning, head to MAHAMUNI PAYA. The Mahamuni image enshrined here is perhaps the most venerated image in Myanmar, covered in over 15 cm of gold leaf. Worshippers flock daily to the shrine at four in the morning to observe the unique face-washing ceremony. Enroute to the pagoda, stop to observe the laborious process of GOLD-LEAF BEATING, where gold is painstakingly hammered into tissue-thin squares. Before breaking for lunch, visit a CRAFT WORKSHOP specializing in one of the arts for which the city is famous: bronze-casting, marble-carving, wood-carving, or puppetry. The afternoon’s tour includes some of the city’s most interesting temples and palaces. Begin at SHWENANDAW KYAUNG, or the Golden Teak Monastery. Built entirely of golden teak, this intricately carved wooden monastery was once part of the Mandalay Palace, used as private apartments by King Mindon and his chief queen. Continue to KYAUKAWGYI PAYA, famous for its monumental seated Buddha, carved from a single block of marble, and the elegant SANDAMANI PAYA. Finally, visit KUTHODAW PAYA, known also as the world s biggest book. Around the central stupa are miniature pavilions, each housing a slab of marble. Numbering altogether 729, these slabs are inscribed with the entire Tripitkata, or Buddhist scriptures.
Overnight : Mandalay
Meal :

DAY2 : MANDALAY
Mandalay Excursion to Pyin Oo Lwin Journey northeast along Highway 3 parallel to the railway line. The journey is across the plains, then up the twisting road into the hills. At the halfway mark one passes View Point, which has spectacular views. Originally a Shan Danu village. A legacy of the influx of South Asians during the British colonial era is that Pyin Oo Lwin is home to around 5,000 Nepalis and 10,000 Indians. For many years it was a British hill station as due to the altitude, even at the height of the hot season, it is pleasantly cool and the air is fresh. BOTANICAL GARDEN: Colonel May used Turkish prisoners of war to develop this 237-acre botanical garden during WWII. The garden features wide expanses of manicured grass, large flower beds, natural forest, rose gardens and an orchid house. PURCELL TOWER: this clock tower near the town entrance was a present from Queen Victoria, who offered an identical tower to Cape Town in South Africa. NAUNG KAN GYL PAYA: located at the top of a hill, there are good views of the town from here. CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: a 100-year-old church south of the central area which features a large brick sanctuary with a belltower and cruciform floor plan. The vaulted wooden ceilings and well appointed interior are impressive. PEIKCHIN CAVES: This large Hindu-Buddhist shrine cave was developed by local Nepalis and is adorned with modern Buddha images and models of Myanmar’s most famous pagodas.
Overnight : Mandalay
Meal : Breakfast

DAY3 : MANDALAY
Mandalay Excursion to Mingun with boat trip Travel upriver by boat to MINGUN, enjoying the views of river life fishing villages, market boats, women attending to their washing, and children playing in the water. Explore the ruins of the vast MINGUN PAYA, a monument to human ambition never finished, its size would have dwarfed all contemporary pagodas. After visiting other nearby pagodas, return downstream by boat to Mandalay.Excursion to Yae Tagon, with visit to an orchid farm Start to visit an ORCHID FARM, where several varieties of this exotic flower are grown. Continue to YAE KYI VILLAGE, just outside of Mandalay near the base of YAE TAGON MOUNTAIN, and observe the activities of daily life; making bamboo fans, gardening, and the cultivation of indigenous medicines. Drive up to caves situated halfway up the mountain and enjoy the picturesque views of the golf course and endless green rice paddies. From there, begin trekking uphill through jungle landscape to the SHWE HIN THA CAVE area, with a natural stone representation of a Hintha bird at the entrance.
Overnight : Mandalay
Meal : Breakfast

DAY4 : MONYWA
Monywa By vehicle from Mandalay to Monywa Excursion to the Pow Win Daung Caves Cross the Chindwin River by local ferry and continue westwards towards the Pow Win Daung caves by open jeep. POW WIN DAUNG: this mountain contains a series of caves set in the hillside along a meandering path and contains Buddha images and beautifully preserved murals dating from the 14th-16th centuries. SHWE BA TAUNG PAYA. Shrines and pavilions are carved into the sandstone hillside here, colorfully decorated with mosaics and Buddha images. Whimsical sculptures adorn the path and walls, such as a giant golden frog sitting by the road or an elephant carved to form a temple doorway.
Overnight :
Meal : Breakfast

DAY5 : MONYWA
Monywa Sightseeing in Monywa MONYWA: situated on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River, Monywa is now the second biggest town in Upper Myanmar and serves as a major trade center for agricultural produce from the surrounding Chindwin Valley, especially beans, pulses and palm sugar. THANBODDHAY PAYA: Every spare surface of this temple, inside and out, is covered with thousands of miniature Buddha images (almost 600,000 altogether); the cumulative effect is spectacularly colorful. BODDHI TATAUNG: A grove of banyan trees with a Buddha image at the base of each one.By vehicle from Monywa to Pakkoku Visit Ah Neint By boat from Pakkoku to Bagan.
Overnight :
Meal : Breakfast