Burma in Brief

(7 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake

This tour is designed for travelers who want to experience the highlights of Myanmar within one week. Begin in the city of Yangon (Rangoon). Stay at the famed Strand, a British colonial period hotel with teak windows, marble floors, rattan chairs and lacquer ceiling fans. With your private guide, tour the Shwedagon Pagoda, a 300-foot tall golden Buddhist reliquary and the city's most spectacular landmark, the sprawling Bogyoke (Scott) Market and the National Museum. Visit neighborhoods that reflect Yangon's Burmese, British, Indian, Bangladeshi and indigenous influences.

Next, fly to unforgettable, awe-inspiring Bagan, where thousands of pagodas and temples stretch from the Ayeyarwady River out across miles of arid plains. Tour the structures, built between the 11th and 13th centuries when Bagan was a major Buddhist center of Southeast Asia, and learn about the history carved in their layered facades, painted in their interior frescoes and sculpted in their Buddhist statues. Also visit local markets and villages. If desired, take a memorable hot air balloon ride over the temples as the sun rises. One evening, ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Bagan at sunset. Another night, take a sunset cruise on the river.

Continue to fabled Mandalay, the cultural heart of Myanmar. Visit craft districts throughout the city and watch a procession of monks at a monastery in the silk weaving center of Amarapura. Also, tour pagodas and ruins in nearby Ava, Mingun and/or Sagaing—all ancient capitals.

Next, visit Inle Lake, home of the Intha people. Take a canoe ride down Inle's canals, pass through floating villages built on stilts, and see how the Intha grow crops on reed islands. Visit local crafts villages to shop for distinctive textiles, ceramics and lacquerware.