Golden Myanmar Discovery 2026–2027

Mingalabar! On arrival at Mandalay International Airport, your guide and driver welcome you with a warm smile and a cool towel, then transfer you by private car to your hotel (approx. 45 minutes).

After check-in and a short rest, begin your discovery of Myanmar's last royal capital. Visit the revered Mahamuni Buddha Image, covered in a 15-cm-thick layer of gold leaf applied daily by devotees, and stop at a traditional gold-leaf workshop to see how wafer-thin sheets are still pounded entirely by hand. Continue to Shwenandaw Monastery, the exquisite 'Golden Teak Monastery' carved from top to bottom and the only surviving building of the original royal palace, then Kuthodaw Pagoda, home to 729 marble slabs known as 'the World's Biggest Book'.

As the afternoon softens, climb (or drive) up Mandalay Hill for a magnificent panoramic sunset over the palace moat, the Ayeyarwady River and the distant Shan hills. Overnight in Mandalay.

Meals: No meals (welcome drink at hotel)

After breakfast, drive south to Amarapura, the 'City of Immortality'. Arrive at Mahagandayon Monastery, where more than a thousand monks live and study; witness their silent single-file procession at the morning meal – one of Myanmar's most moving sights. Visit a silk-weaving workshop where the famous Mandalay longyi patterns are woven on wooden looms.

Continue to the jetty and cross a small river by boat to Innwa (Ava), capital of Burmese kingdoms for nearly 400 years. Explore this lost city the traditional way – by horse cart – rattling along shady lanes to the brick-and-stucco Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery, the leaning 27-metre Nanmyin Watchtower ('the Tower of Innwa') and the atmospheric teak Bagaya Monastery, still an active school for young novices.

In the late afternoon, return to Amarapura for the moment everyone waits for: U Bein Bridge, a 1.2-km teak bridge built in 1850 from the old Innwa palace. After a stroll across the famous planks among monks and local couples, step aboard your private wooden sunset boat on Taungthaman Lake. From the water you enjoy the very best view in Mandalay: the entire bridge stretched in black silhouette against a blazing gold-and-crimson sky, fishermen casting nets around you – the single most photographed sunset in Myanmar, seen from the front row. Return to Mandalay for overnight.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, set off on a scenic drive south to Bagan (approx. 180 km / 4–5 hours) through the rural heart of the dry zone – toddy palm plantations, sesame fields and village markets. Comfort stops and photo stops are made along the way; ask your guide to pull over whenever something catches your eye.

Arriving in Bagan around midday, check in and refresh. In the afternoon, begin with the gilded Shwezigon Pagoda, the prototype of all Myanmar stupas and Bagan's most important shrine, then visit a family-run lacquerware workshop in Myinkaba village to watch artisans create Bagan's most famous craft using techniques unchanged for 900 years.

End the day at a panoramic viewpoint as the sun sinks behind thousands of temple spires – your first taste of the magic of Bagan. Overnight in Bagan.

Meals: Breakfast

Optional – Balloons over Bagan: before dawn, lift gently into the sky aboard a hot-air balloon and watch the sun rise over 2,000 temples wrapped in morning mist – consistently rated one of the world's greatest travel experiences (mid-October to mid-April, approx. US$ 340–460 per person, advance booking essential).

After breakfast, stroll through the lively Nyaung U Market, where farmers sell flowers, thanaka wood and mountains of produce. Then dedicate the day to Bagan's 'big four': the masterpiece Ananda Temple with its four golden standing Buddhas; Thatbyinnyu, the tallest temple on the plain; the massive, mysterious Dhammayangyi with its bricked-up inner corridors; and elegant Sulamani, famed for its murals.

In the late afternoon, board a private wooden boat for a sunset cruise on the Ayeyarwady River. Drift past riverside villages and fishermen casting their nets while the sun melts into the water and the temples glow behind you – served with seasonal fruit and soft drinks on board. Overnight in Bagan.

Meals: Breakfast

Today goes beyond the famous monuments into the quiet corners of the archaeological zone. Explore the Myinkaba area: Gubyaukgyi Temple with Bagan's finest 12th-century mural paintings, and Manuha Temple, built by a captive king, whose giant cramped Buddhas express his longing for freedom.

Continue into the rural Minnanthu village area – ox carts, peanut fields and farmhouses – visiting Payathonzu's triple shrines, Lemyethna and the underground meditation caves of Kyat Kan. Stop at a village home for green tea and a glimpse of everyday life, exactly as your guide grew up with it.

Late afternoon is yours: rent an e- bike for an easy ride among the temples, return to a favourite pagoda, relax by the pool, or simply chase one last unforgettable Bagan sunset. Overnight in Bagan.

Meals: Breakfast

After a leisurely breakfast, begin the journey south to Yangon by private car (approx. 620 km / 8–9 hours including stops) on the modern Naypyidaw–Yangon expressway. The drive itself is a window onto rural Myanmar: golden rice paddies, bullock carts, hilltop stupas and roadside rest stops where your guide will introduce you to Burmese snacks and sweet milky tea.

A comfortable lunch stop is made on the way (own account). Arrive in Yangon in the early evening, check in to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the night at leisure – perhaps a stroll through the illuminated downtown or dinner in Chinatown's famous 19th Street. Overnight in Yangon.

Prefer to fly? A 70-minute domestic flight Bagan–Yangon can replace the drive at a supplement – just ask.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast and check-out, dive into Yangon's colonial downtown, walking past the grand façades of the High Court, City Hall and the Strand, and visit Botahtaung Pagoda by the riverfront, where a single sacred hair of the Buddha is enshrined in a glittering mirrored corridor.

Then visit one of Southeast Asia's most important colonial landmarks: the Secretariat (Ministers' Building) – the colossal red-brick Victorian complex that served as the administrative and military office of British Burma and later of the independent nation. Wander its grand staircases, turreted courtyards and echoing corridors, and stand in the very room where General Aung San, the father of Myanmar's independence, was assassinated in 1947. Recently and beautifully restored, it is a moving, photogenic journey through 150 years of Burmese history.

Then comes the day's adventure: board the commuter ferry across the Yangon River to Dala (10 minutes) – a crossing shared with monks, vendors balancing baskets of quail eggs, and friendly commuters. On the other side, explore Dala township by trishaw: stilt-house villages, a bamboo-weaving community, local monasteries and markets. It is astonishing – rural Myanmar just across the water from a city of five million, and a highlight guests talk about for years.

Back in Yangon, browse Bogyoke Aung San (Scott) Market for last-minute gems, lacquerware and longyis. Save the grand finale for late afternoon: Shwedagon Pagoda, the 2,500-year-old golden wonder plated with real gold and crowned with a 76-carat diamond. Walk the marble terrace barefoot among praying families as the stupa blazes in the sunset light.

In the evening, transfer to Yangon International Airport for your departure flight, carrying memories of the Golden Land that will last a lifetime.

Meals: Breakfast