Trips

Yangon

Min Gala Ba! Welcome to Myanmar. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. You can arrive at any time during the day as there are no activities planned until this important meeting. Please check with the hotel reception or look on the reception noticeboard for where and when the meeting will take place. If you're going to be late, please inform reception. We'll be collecting your insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting, so please ensure you have all these details to provide to your leader. If you have free time to explore before the meeting, we recommend stepping out onto the streets of Yangon. Why not take the Yangon Circle Line train for a three-hour local journey, or head over to Bogyoke Market and haggle with the locals? There’s also Sule Paya Pagoda, a 2000-year-old golden temple, and the Gems Museum, which houses some of the world’s largest sapphire, ruby and jade pieces. You may need a taxi to travel between some of these attractions; a one-way trip should cost about MMK 4,000. Notes: If you can't arrange a flight that will have you arrive at the hotel in time for the meeting, you may wish to arrive a day early so you're able to attend. We'll be happy to book additional accommodation for you (subject to availability). Riding distance: none

Yangon

Start the day with a city walking tour of Yangon. Your leader will show you the city centre and some major attractions around town. In the afternoon, you’ll visit the holiest shrine in the country, the Shwedagon Paya. This gold-gilded pagoda is studded with diamonds and gems, and said to contain eight hairs of the Buddha. It’s a particularly impressive sight at sunset, when the lights come on and the stupa shines beautifully. We also head down to Kandawgyi Lake, where you’ll see Karaweik Hall, a reconstruction of a golden royal barge floating on the eastern side. If you’re still feeling adventurous at the end of the day, consider doing an optional Urban Adventures tour - Yangon’s Streets By Night. Riding distance: none

Bagan

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for the flight to Bagan. Prepare to be astounded by Bagan, a grassy plain scattered with literally hundreds of ancient pagodas. A full day of cycling will take us to the city's most fascinating sites, including the teeming Nyaung Oo Market, the glittering Shwezigon Pagoda, and the atmospheric cave temple of Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi. In the afternoon we visit a traditional workshop to observe how lacquer ware is made, then continue to the architecturally magnificent monastery of Ananda Phaya. Riding distance: approx. 15kms

Mount Popa

Today we start early to avoid the heat, cycling through groves of towering palm trees, which you'll probably see the local men scaling for the juice they distill liquor from, to Mount Popa. The countryside we ride through is very picturesque, so be sure to bring your camera along. Sitting 1,518 metres above sea-level, Mount Popa is actually a volcano in the Pegu Range (and the mythical home of nats, Myanmar's 37 spirits). Riding distance: approx. 50kms

Myingyan

Today's ride to Myingyan is a scenic one along the narrow, quiet roads that are typical of Myanmar's central dry zone. Though mostly flat, the route passes On through the townships of Taungtha and the many unbridged sand creeks that wind through toddy forest towards Mount Popa. Tonight we have a special treat - a Shan Traditional Dinner. Riding distance: approx. 85 kms

Mandalay

There's a lot of distance to cover today, so you (and your bike) will be driven some of the way. Cycle along well maintained roads through small villages to Tada-U on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy, before re-boarding our vehicle and taking the highway north to Mandalay. Riding distance: approx. 80 kms

Mingun/Mandalay

After breakfast we start cycling out of downtown Mandalay to the small town of Amarapura, home of the U-Bein Bridge, the longest teak bridge in the world. Continue on to Mingun, a small riverside town situated at the base of an enormous, uncompleted temple. Originally designed to be 152 metres high, Mingun's stupa, had it been completed, would have been the world's largest. According to local legend, work on it was halted when a local astronomer prophesied its completion would spell end of the country. From Mingun we board a boat for a cruise along the Ayeyarwady back to Mandalay, where we leave our bikes behind and take private transport to visit the glittering Kuthodaw Pagoda, at the foot of Mandalay Hill and home of the world’s largest book. Scale the hill in time for sunset and be treated to superb views over city's lake and glittering stupas. For some evening entertainment, consider catching a traditional show by the Mandalay Marionettes, or a non-conformist comedy show by the Moustache Brothers. Riding distance: approx. 40 kms

Pindaya

Leaving Mandalay, avoid the busy highway traffic and drive (approx. 4hrs) to the small mountain village of Ywa Ngan. After lunch cycle approx. 50kms through rural Myanmar, past fields, small, lively villages and beautiful landscapes, all the way to Pindaya, a town famous for thousands of Buddha effigies stocked inside its limestone caves. Riding distance: approx. 50 kms

Pindaya

Following breakfast at the hotel, drive to the Pindaya caves for an explore of its caverns and tunnels. There are more than 8,000 Buddha images contained inside this labyrinth of tunnels and meditation chambers, with visiting pilgrims adding to the collection each day. Cycle over the rolling hills of the Shan plateau to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to Inle Lake. 14 miles long and 7 miles wide, this is the second largest natural lake in Myanmar. It sits 2,900 feet above sea level, nestled among the hazy Blue Mountains. The route up into the Shan Highland includes a couple of tough ascents. Riding distance: approx. 60 kms

Inle Lake

This morning we ride along Inle Lake's western banks to the hillside pagoda complex of Indein. After a bit of time spent exploring the site's hundreds of Shan style stupas, we'll cross the lake by motor boat. From here our route follows an undulating road through dense farmland. You'll pass Intha villages (a local people known for their unusual style of leg-rowing), rice paddies, fields of sugarcane and traditional wooden houses. In the afternoon we'll travel by private car to the local Red Mountain winery for a tasting before returning to Nyaung Shwe for the night. Riding distance: approx. 50 kms

Inle Lake

Today we explore Inle Lake and visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake's main sanctuary of Buddha images and royal barges. Cruising around Inle Lake by boat offers a chance to see local life from a different angle. You'll pass cottage industries and see the lake's famous leg-rowing fishermen. Their unique technique of rowing standing up, with a long paddle in one hand and their leg wrapped around it lower down, leaves a fishermen free to cast their conical fishing nets while moving. This unique style evolved due to the lake's covering of reeds and floating plants, which makes it difficult for someone to see and steer while seated. Next up we'll arrive in the village of Inpawkhone, a place famous for its traditional method of weaving silk from the stems of lotus flowers. It's a time consuming process, but one that results in high quality materials. After watching the weavers at work we'll visit a cheroot factory and see cigars being rolled by hand. Riding distance: none

Inle Lake/Yangon

Enjoy a morning soaking up Inle Lake's serenity before farewelling your support crew and transferring to Heho for the fly back to Yangon. An included arrival transfer will take you from the airport to your hotel. Riding distance: none