Myanmar Tour Packages   »  Bike Adventure Tour 4

 

Day 1 Yangon Arrival

Arrive in Yangon where you will be welcomed by your local tour guide and transferred to your hotel. Late afternoon visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda of Rudyard Kipling fame and one of Myanmar’s most sacred places. The massive bell shaped stupa is plated with gold and the tip of the stupa is set with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and topaz – a stunning sight as the sun sets and a most fitting place to begin our trip in this “Golden Land”.

Biking distance : none

Day 2 Yangon – Heho (by flight) - Taunggyi

After breakfast, transfer to airport for your flight to Heho. After arriving at Heho airport, transfer by bus to Taunggyi ( 35 Km – approx: 1 hr driving), the capital of the Shan state and former British colonial hill station and check in at the hotel. After lunch the bikes get assembled and there will be a brief ride around town to familiarize everyone with traffic, Burmese-style.

Biking distance : none

Day 3 Taunggyi – Kakku – Taunggyi by bike.

After breakfast at hotel, departure by bus to Kakku, a lesser known but impressive site comprised of several thousand small stupas in the Pa O region. The place is newly opened after the ethnic freedom fighter had entered the legal-fold.  Cycling begins in the mid morning on the bumpy tarred road and bike back to Taunggyi. After lunch, descends down nearly 2000 feet to Inle Lake.

Biking distance : Kakku – Taunggyi (45 Km) / Taunggyi – Inle Lake (43 Km)

Day 4 Inle Lake boat excursion and rest day

We plan to spend the day visiting villages and sampling the spectacular array of traditional handicrafts. You will see the unique method locals use to row their boats, fishermen with their own style of fishing, floating farms and gardens and a handloom weaving cottage with its own showroom. You will visit Phaungdawoo Pagoda which houses the five most revered Buddha Images in the southern Shan State. Alternatively, you may bike to nearby villages to explore more on your own.

Day 5 Inle Lake – Kalaw by bike.

After breakfast at hotel, bike to Kalaw. The short but challenging ride up out of the Inle Lake basin takes us through scenic country side to Kalaw, another hill station filled with interesting architecture. Depending on the time, we can wander through the market or ride around the city looking at the decaying colonial mansions.

Biking distance: 60 km

Day 6 Kalaw – Pindaya by bike.

Today we head north to Pindaya on a road flanked by beautifully manicured fields where much of Myanmar’s product comes from.  Lunch in Pindaya and rest for some time in the hotel.   Before dinner we will visit the Buddha image filled Pindaya caves and catch the sunset from the hill side.

Biking distance: 50 km

Day 7 Pindaya – Kyaukse by bike. Bus to Mandalay

The most demanding day of the tour goes northwest on a recently paved road through mountains and jungle.  Bus will transfer you in the early morning to Sakhangyi, a small village hidden in the mountains.  We will have a light or picnic lunch on the way in a village restaurant.  Then to Kyaukse and continue biking.  For those who want to avoid the heavy traffic, the bus will transfer the remaining distance into Mandalay.

Biking distance: 208 km

Day 8 Mandalay sightseeing

You can be as active or as lazy as you choose today. We will do a formal half-day tour to the temple of the former royal capital city of Sagaing, a few miles south of Mandalay. During the afternoon you can visit the pagodas on Mandalay Hill or the Mandalay Palace both which are just minutes from the hotel. You can also go shopping. Favorite things to shop for are marionettes, wall hangings and antique opium scales and weights. If you cannot stand a day without exercise, you can bike traditionally around outer wall of the Mandalay Royal Palace.

Day 9 Mandalay – Myitthar by bike

Biking out of the city is not fun and you will be transferred out of Mandalay for about 20 minutes to avoid the congested traffic.  Bike southward along the superb high-way for about 40km and arrive Kyaukse, the rice bowl during the Bagan period.  This thriving small town is assumed to be the birth place of Burmese, according the British scholar G.H Luce.  Then, turn right to a by-way and arrive Myittha, a small charming town.  Best place to be local as today night stop is arranged in a Monastery with very simple accommodation.

Biking distance: 74 km

Day 10 Myitthar – Myingyan by bike

Say goodbye to the chief monk.  Breakfast shall be at a local tea-house near the market.  Have a leisure walk there and bike to the south further.  The road is flat, narrow and roughly tarred.  Pass through many villages along the way.  Should you take delight in visiting a local house on the way, the guide and the driver with you shall be of assistance.

Biking distance: 80 km

Day 11 Myingyan – Mt. Popa by bike

Today shall be the most beautiful day to bike.  The road is typical to the central dry zone.  Begin biking across the dry interior of Myanmar. There are a number of places where they have yet to build bridges so we bike through dry riverbeds or small streams. Tonight we stay at a lovely lodge overlooking Mt. Popa, the site of a popular Buddhist temple build on top of a free-standing volcanic plug and home of the Nats, impish gods who can allegedly have the power to make your life delightful or miserable.

Biking distance: 84 km

Day 12 Mt. Popa – Bagan by bike

After hiking to the top of Mt. Popa, it is just a short, easy ride across the desert plain to the Bagan. The area is intoxicating. We have another very good hotel in Bagan, perhaps Myanmar’s most important and impressive historical site. Spreading over 15 square miles on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River Bagan is an enormous, ancient collection of temples and stupas. Some are crumbling ruins. Others have been magnificently restored.

Biking distance: 80 km

Day 13 Bagan

What make the experience of cycling with 2000 millennium old religious edifice better? Relax and enjoy this special place. There will be a formal tours of some of the major temples in the Bagan area or you are welcome to explore the area on you own. This evening we will take a boat ride on the Ayeyarwady River. There is a golf course in Bagan. Both a caddy and an umbrella bearer come with your green fee!

Day 14 Bagan – Yangon by flight

Morning at leisure or continue explore the rest archaeological zone or bike to a local village and witness the simple life of Bagan people.  First, see the market at Nyaungoo and continue seeing the architectural works on the temples.  Fly back to Yangon with evening flight.

Day 15 Yangon

Today is reserved for exploring Yangon, shopping, and packing our bicycles. Visit the landmark of Myanmar/Yangon in the morning. A walk through “downtown” Yangon, a diverse mix of faded colonial architecture from the British times, and high-rises built by more recent investors; Sule Pagoda, built in the early 3rd century is a landmark in the city centre. Do your last minute souvenir shopping at Bogyoke Market and visit Karaweik, a royal barge for fantastic photo shot along the “pilgrims” causeway across the Royal Lake with stunning views of Schwedagon Pagoda.

Day 16 Yangon Departure

After breakfast, transfer to airport for your international flights.