SHAN HILLS & TRIBE LAND ADVENTURE TOUR

Welcome to Myanmar! Your guide will meet you at the Mandalay International Airport and transfer to your hotel in town. Settle in and then enjoy free time to explore Mandalay. In the evening enjoy tasty Burmese dinner with your guide and go throug the trip plan and essentials.

Meals Included: Welcome Dinner
Overnight: Hotel in Mandalay

After breakfast we start ride to the Kalaw first a few hour the road are paved, once back in the lowlands, it’s just half an hour until we reach the old Yangon-Mandalay highway take a shortcut that connects to the nice road with eucalyptus trees, and after the road climbs up the mountain, and another 1,5 hours would be a serpentine ride offering great view. Lunch stop in Ywangan, after lunch it’s possible to make a quick detour to visit a blue pond hidden in the groves, and we can check out local coffee initiative, Genius Coffee that works closely with a community of Danu small growers. Then we continue ride to Kalaw.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: in Kalaw

Today we will drive to Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State. First we drive in the direction to Pin Laung which is famous for its amazing 360-degree views of breathtaking hills capes (need to get to the top of karst mountain first though, which takes time…). It is the highest altitude town in Southern Shan State, well known for it’s tea, coffee and pears. There’s a century old sawbwa (local royalty of old kingdoms days) house still left but in a bad shape, part of it collapsed after years of neglect. After 20 minutes of climbing a narrow mountain road there’s a nice viewpoint opening to the surrounding karst mountains and enless forest. We will make lunch stop near Pinlaung and continue drive to Loikaw where we will be arriving in the afternoon. You may have time to visit to Taung Kwe Pagoda to meet the beautiful sunset.

Meals included: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Overnight: hotel or guest house in Loikaw

Today we begin the day with riding roughly 1,5 hours to Panpet group of villages – home of a few tribes of Kayan people (or Padaung as they are more commonly known), the ladies there still wearing brass coils around their necks. We can make a short hike in surrounding hills through Kayan ancestrial lands to learn more about local culture. Back onto the wheels, lunch can be in a village or in Loikaw on the way back. Stop in another ethnic community Tanilaleh of Kayah people who form a majority in Loikaw valley. Then continue for roughly half an hour east of town to see the mysterious Kyet Cave containing centuries old teak wood coffins – their exact origin is still unknown but monks from the nearby monastery have interesting stories to share with you. Late afternoon/early evening return to the town for a bbq and beer at a busy riverside restaurant.

Meals included: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Overnight: hotel or guest house in Loikaw

On this day, we drive to Inle lake passing some hidden tribal Lisu and Pao villages on the way. Time permitting we can visit some waterfalls and caves along the way closer to Loikaw. Continue up the Hsiseng valley we can visit large ethnic market in Loisawn town, from where turning onto a smaller rural road up in the hills. We will stop at Kakku pagoda complex, a popular Buddhist pilgrimage site dating couple hundred years back, in the heartland of Pao people. If you prefer staying on asphalt, we can ride ride along the road that connects the lake via Taunggyi – the capital town of Shan State. It’s a multi-ethnic town, with Bamar, Shan, Indian and Pao population. Otherwise there are quite a few dirt treks leading up the mountain range to the east of Inle Lake. Arrive in Nyaung Shwe in the afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Overnight: hotel in Inle lake

After breakfast at hotel we take a nice secondary road up the mountains that leads through Pao and Taung Yoe farmlands. There are many trails coverning the area, so time permitting we could do a detour to one of the more off the beaten track villages. In Heho town – if on a market day – you will see locals negotiating and checking out the merchandise, water buffaloes that are somewhat local tractors used for field work everywhere in Myanmar. We continue along a small scenic road which travels through the region that is often referred to as the “Tuscany” of Myanmar, named so for it’s resembelance of the famed region in Italy, with rolling hilly landscapes and an array of beautiful natural colors. We will stop in local villages to visit farmers and learn about seasonal crops grown and harvested in the current season – ride is beautiful and the fields are covered in different colors. Closer to midday we arrive in Pindaya and there will be enough time to visit the famous Pindaya cave that houses thousands of golden Buddha images – a highlight and one of the most revered pilgrimage sights in the country. After we take a shortcut that connects to the nice road with eucalyptus trees, it’s possible to make a quick detour to visit a blue pond hidden in the groves. Lunch stop in Ywangan and we can check out local coffee initiative, Genius Coffee that works closely with a community of Danu small growers. Shortly after leaving the town, road climbs up the mountain, and another 1,5 hours would be a serpentine ride which is partially under reconstruction, offering great view anyway. Once back in the lowlands, it’s just half an hour until we reach the old Yangon-Mandalay highway, from where it’s another 1,5 hours to Mandalay via Kyaukhse.

Meals included: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Overnight: hotel in Mandalay

Spent the last day exploring Mandalay before your transfer to the airport.