Myanmar Biking Tour – 14 Days

Begin at Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda in Bahan township, home to one of the largest reclining Buddha images in the country. Your guide explains the 108 auspicious symbols painted on the soles of the Buddha’s feet and what they reveal about Burmese art and belief. On the way between sights, watch for the mix of colonial and Burmese styles in the buildings along the streets.

Continue to Kandawgyi Lake, where Karaweik Hall, built in the shape of a pair of mythical birds on a royal barge, floats on the water and makes one of the city’s most photographed scenes.

Save the best for last at Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred site in Myanmar. Legend says it enshrines relics of four Buddhas, among them eight strands of hair, and its great stupa is sheathed in gold and crowned with thousands of diamonds and rubies. Linger as pilgrims and monks walk barefoot around the terrace, and watch the stupa glow as the sun goes down, before returning to your hotel.

Cycle to Kandawgyi Park to feel the city waking up, as joggers circle the lake and families gather for breakfast. Then ride through small residential quarters to a lively local market, where city dwellers bargain over the day’s vegetables, fish and spices.

Your guide leads you down to the riverside jetty to watch the bustle of the fish trade, as boats unload their catch and porters hurry past with baskets on their heads.

Pedal along Strand Road, lined with grand colonial buildings and colourful street vendors, before returning to your hotel.

Transfer to the jetty and cross the river to Dala, a small fishing town that offers a quick look at simple village life just across the water from the city. From here, cycle out through the delta to Twante.

Your first stop is Shwesandaw Pagoda, an old Mon pagoda that, like several others of the same name in Myanmar, is said to hold strands of the Buddha’s hair. Then follow your guide to the pottery village, where craftsmen have shaped clay on the wheel for more than a century, and try your hand at making a pot of your own.

After lunch, cycle back along the Twante Canal and board a local boat for the trip back to Yangon. Your driver then takes you to the airport for the domestic flight to Mandalay.

Begin at U Bein Bridge in Amarapura, a slender teak footbridge stretching across Taungthaman Lake. Walk across in the cool morning air as monks and villagers pass by on their daily rounds. Then cycle on to Mahagandayon Monastery, the largest in the region, where more than a thousand monks live and study under strict discipline. If you are curious about Buddhist teaching, this is a rare chance to see monastic life up close.

At a silk-weaving workshop, watch artisans at their looms producing the richly patterned fabrics used for the longyi, the sarong worn across Myanmar.

Continue to Ava, also known as Inwa, capital of Burmese kingdoms for much of the period from the 14th to the 19th century. Visit Bagaya Monastery, a magnificent teak building raised on 267 giant posts, where the sons of the royal court were once educated. Nearby stand the leaning watchtower, all that remains of the old Ava Palace, and Maha Aung Mye Bonzan, a brick monastery known for its intricate stucco decoration.

Back in Mandalay, visit Mahamuni Pagoda, one of the holiest sites in the country, where the Buddha image is so thickly layered with gold leaf by devotees that its shape has softened over time. Men can join the faithful in applying gold leaf to the statue. In the workshops nearby, see how gold leaf is beaten by hand, alongside woodcarving, embroidered tapestries and marionettes.

Visit Shwenandaw, the Golden Palace Monastery, a masterpiece of carved teak that was once part of the royal palace, then Kuthodaw Pagoda, where the Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble slabs, often called the world’s largest book. End on the top of Mandalay Hill as the sun sets over the city and the river.

Rise before dawn to watch the sun come up over Mandalay, then set off by bike through the back lanes and out of town into the countryside.

Ride through lively village markets that offer a vivid picture of local life, then continue north-east of the city to a typical farming village, where you learn about the crops and daily routines of the region. On the way back, pause at a local teahouse for sweet milky tea and Burmese snacks.

Reach the end of the ride around midday, where your driver is waiting to take you back to your hotel.

Cross the Irrawaddy to Sagaing Hill, one of Myanmar’s most important religious centres, its slopes dotted with hundreds of monasteries, nunneries and white and gold stupas. Visit a silversmith’s workshop and a family making clay pots, then call at a nunnery to see the daily life of Buddhist nuns.

Watch the sun set from the top of Sagaing Hill before returning to your hotel in Mandalay.

Say goodbye to Mandalay as your driver takes you to the jetty to board your river boat.

Enjoy breakfast on the sundeck in the soft morning light and gentle breeze as the riverbanks slip by. Along the way, the boat stops at a riverside village, where you go ashore to meet the villagers and see how life is lived along the water.

After lunch on board, the crew show you the many ways to tie a longyi and how to apply thanaka, the creamy paste made from tree bark that Burmese women and children wear on their cheeks.

As you near Bagan, the sun sets over the river and the first temple spires appear on the bank.

Rise before dawn for sunrise over the temples. If you wish, you can see it from a hot air balloon, an optional extra: your driver collects you early for the launch site, and for around 45 minutes you float silently over the spires, with the Irrawaddy to the west and the mountains to the east. On landing, a small celebration with sparkling wine and fresh fruit awaits.

Spend the day exploring Bagan’s most remarkable temples and pagodas with your guide, learning how each was built, what it was dedicated to and the part Buddhism still plays in everyday Burmese life.

Visit a local workshop producing lacquerware and woodcraft, the crafts Bagan is best known for, and watch the craftsmen build up layer upon layer of lacquer using techniques passed down for generations.

Head to a sunset viewpoint to watch the plain turn gold as the light fades over the temples.

Start at the local market, alive with vegetables, flowers and spices and with smiling faces painted with thanaka. Then set off by bike into the rural area, as your guide shares the history, culture and daily life of the region. At Phwar Saw village, see how families make lacquerware, one of Bagan’s best-known crafts.

Cycle on to the Three Pagodas to admire their old mural paintings, and to Kyat Kan Monastery, a cluster of small underground chambers where monks still sleep and meditate today.

Transfer to the jetty and board a wooden boat for a gentle cruise along the Irrawaddy. Settle in on the deck with a cocktail in hand as the sun goes down over the river and the temples.

Leave Bagan for the short flight to Heho, where your local guide is waiting.

Drive to Pindaya Cave, where thousands of golden Buddha images, offered by pilgrims over the centuries, fill the limestone chambers and passageways.

Visit Sin Khaung Monastery, an impressive wooden monastery known for its fine architecture, its bamboo-woven Buddha images and its bronze statues. Then call at a nearby village known for its crafts, from bamboo hats and pottery to paper umbrellas.

Drive on to Kalaw, a former British hill station set among pine-clad hills, where the air is fresh and the pace slows.

Leave Kalaw for the drive down to Inle Lake.

Board a long-tailed boat and set out across the lake, past fishermen balancing on one leg at the stern of their canoes and villages built on stilts above the water.

End the day at Nampan, one of the lake’s best-known villages, where you can watch cheroots, the local cigars, being rolled by hand and see how the slender wooden canoes are carved, before continuing to your hotel.

Begin at the local market, where people from the hill tribes come down to trade their produce. Then return to your boat and continue across the lake.

The highlight of the day is Indein, an ancient village where hundreds of weathered stupas crowd the hillside. Wander among them and along the covered walkway, lined with stalls selling local handicrafts.

Visit a village of Kayan women, known for the brass coils they wear around their necks, and hear about their lives and the stories behind the tradition.

Head back across the lake towards your hotel. Sunset is the moment to watch the leg-rowing fishermen return from their day’s work, one of the loveliest scenes on Inle.

Join a hands-on cooking class of about four hours, learning to prepare authentic Burmese dishes on a charcoal stove using fresh seasonal vegetables. Afterwards, sit down to enjoy the meal you have made.

Get on your bike and follow the lakeshore to the small farming village of Thale U, riding past sugar cane fields and plots of garlic and onions. Stop at the Maing Thauk bridge, a long wooden walkway where the mountains, the sky and the lake seem to meet.

Continue to Kyaung Taing village on the western shore, where you see how tofu crackers, soya bean snacks and other local foods are made, before returning to your hotel.

Enjoy a last breakfast by the lake, then transfer to Heho Airport for your flight back to Yangon.

Connect with your international flight home.