Myanmar – Journey to the West 8D7N

You will take an international flight to Yangon, the old capital of Myanmar and built during the reign of King Alaungphyar in 1755. After checking into the hotel and enjoy a quick lunch, you will start the tour with a visit to Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, where a giant stone statue of the resting Buddha is. Afterwards, you will continue to explore the city of Yangon, the cultural and tourism center of Myanmar before coming to Shwedagon Golden Tower, one of the great ancient wonders of the world. The tower was built more than 2,500 years ago and is rumored to house eight strands of hair of Buddha and other religious items from other monks. Shwedagon is palatial with the main tower reaching almost 100 meters and the golden dome decorated with thousand gemstones, especially during sunset. After that, you will spend the night in Yangon.

In the morning, we will start heading towards Kyaikhtiyo, a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Myanmar. At the bottom of the mountain, you will travel upwards by car to visit Golden Rock Pagoda, also known as Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda. The gold-plated pagoda is almost 24 ft tall and sits atop a cliff more than 3,600 ft above sea level. According to locals, the pagoda is built more than 2,500 years ago and able to survive for that long due to a strand of Buddha’s hair being placed inside. After, you will rest for the night in Kyaikhtiyo.

After breakfast, you will travel to Bago, the ancient capital of the Mon Empire in the 16th century. There, you will visit the Kyakhawine Monastery, the third largest monastery in Myanmar and home to monks practicing Hinayana Buddhism. Then, you will move on to the tallest pagoda in Myanmar, Shwe Maw Daw Pagoda, well-known for its holiness and the keeper of many hair strands of the Gautama Buddha. On the way back to Yangon, you will have the opportunity to sightsee more beautiful pagodas and shrines such as the Chinese Temple, Shwe Tha Lyaung Pagoda, and the Det Mon Village. You will spend the rest of the night in Yangon.

Today, you will board a domestic flight heading to the ancient capital of Bagan. Once there, you will start with a visit to Shwezigon Golden Temple, the very first golden pagoda built in Myanmar with an exquisite architecture. Next, you will visit Ananda Pagoda, built in 1090 and considered a masterpiece in temple architecture with its four stunning and giant golden Buddha statues facing all four directions. Ananda Pagoda is also the home to 1,442 embossments depicting the life of Buddha, from the moment of his birth to him reaching nirvana.
After, you will travel to Gubyaukgyi Pagoda, constructed following Indian architecture in the year 1113. The last destination for today will be Htilominlo Pagoda, one of the five most ancient and largest pagodas in Bagan and built in the year of 1211 under the reign of King Htilominlo. Afterwards, you will spend the night in Bagan.

In the morning, you will board another domestic flight to Mandalay, the last capital of the Burmese monarchy. Once in Mandalay, you will go to Sagaing Hill, known as the resting place for saints. Next, you will head to Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, positioned at the center of Sagaing Hill. From the top, you will get to experience the majestic panoramic view of Mandalay city.
In the afternoon, you will tour the Mandalay Palace, the last imperial palace of the Burmese monarchy. This is followed by a visit to peaceful Shwenandaw Monastery, the prime example of the famous wood-carving architecture of Myanmar. Next, we will take you to Maha Muni Pagoda, the holiest place in Mandalay and famous for its over 13 feet tall golden Buddha statue. After, you will visit U Bein Bridge, the longest ancient teak bridge with an age of almost 200 years. And before traveling to Mandalay Hill for a different view of Mandalay city, you will visit Kuthodaw Pagoda, which has the longest stone Buddhist scripture with over 1,458 pages, which will require 450 days with 8 hours daily of reciting for Buddhist monks to fully finish the book. Afterwards, you will spend the rest of the night in Mandalay.

After breakfast, you will travel to Helo by plane and start the day by exploring Pindaya Cave. Along the cave wall, thousands of ancient pagoda trees line up to provide shades for a large area. Pindaya Cave is located at more than 4,000 ft above sea level and is decorated with over 8,000 Buddha statues. Each of those statues has its own unique feature representing its time of creation and blends in perfectly with the limestone formation within the cave. In the afternoon, we will take you to Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, built completely from teak wood in a unique architecture. The rest of the day will be spent resting by Inle Lake.

In the morning, you will start exploring Inle Lake, one of the most spectacular attractions in Myanmar. The lake is within a wide valley, surrounded by the Shan mountain range, and is around 3,000 ft above sea level. Inle Lake is not only famous for its beauty but is also the home to the Inthar minority tribe. You will have the opportunity to travel around the lake on boat to learn about the local culture and lifestyle by the lake.
After, you will travel to Indein Village, famous for its brick buildings since the 11th century and also home to the Padaung minority tribe with their long necks. In the late afternoon, you will take a flight back to Yangon and spend the night there.

After breakfast, we will transfer you to the airport for you flight home. The tour ends here and we hope you had a wonderful time traveling with CaliTravel.

*Price will increase by $40/person if travel during Lunar New Year or other holidays.