Day 1: Mandalay
Arrive in Mandalay and check-in to your hotel. The morning is free for you to explore the city. Mandalay was the last royal capital of Myanmar and built at the base of Mandalay Hill on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River, country’s largest river.
Post-lunch, 1:00pm, our guide meets you at your hotel for a cycling tour to explore some of the most popular sites (Kuthodaw Pagoda, Golden Palace Monastery). We get to ride around the former royal complex’s (destroyed in a fire during World War II) still surviving walls and moat, climb the Mandalay Hill to get the spectacular view of city and visit some Buddhist monasteries along the way. This tour gives an excellent introduction to the city’s history and provide you with plenty of opportunities to soak up the unique mix of chaos and tranquility that is modern-day Mandalay. We convene tonight to celebrate the start of our awesome journey on a bike.
Meals: Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 20km / 12mi*
Day 2: Mandalay
Today ride on the opposite side Irrawaddy River is fascinating. We take a loop covering Amarapura, Sagaing and Mingun. The last leg is by boat on Irrawaddy River back to Mandalay from Mingun.
Along the way visit some classic highlights of the area – silk weaving workshop, U Bein Bridge, Mya Thein Dan Pagoda.
Don’t be surprised if you hear Mandarin here as the local community comprises Chinese, Thais, Laotians, Shan and Karen descendants with a sprinkling of Indian and Nepali settlers present as well.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance cycled: ~ 60km / 36mi*
Day 3: Monywa
A classic ride today through the hinterland takes us to a small town, Monywa, situated beside Chindwin river. Largely a flat terrain with some sections along the Irrawaddy river. The region is home to many mines including copper, silver, and gold.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 90km / 54mi*
Day 4: Bagan
Another long ride today with a short transfer via boat and van. Start the day with a ferry crossing of Chidwin river and pedal to the Phwintaung Caves,a Buddhist cave complex that contains about 947 small and large richly decorated caves. We visit some of the richly ones and continue riding to Kyat Su Khin through quiet backroads. From here we shuttle to Pakokou and board a boat on Irrawaddy river and journey to Bagan.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 70km / 42mi*
Day 5: Bagan – Pagoda Trail
We explore the trails that run among the stupas, built between 14th and 19th centuries: Shwezigon, Sulamani, Htilominlo, Dhammayazika, by bike and return to the hotel for lunch. The evening is at leisure.
If you wish, in the evening enjoy sunrise balloon flights that are considered some of the best ballooning in the world and enjoy the view of Bagan where an estimated thirteen thousand sacred pagodas were built on the plains. Three thousand of these Theravada Buddhist relics now remain. The view is breathtaking and the uniformity, diversity and subtlety of these temples will amaze and intrigue.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance cycled: ~ 20km / 12mi
Day 6: Mount Popa
We ride and climb to the top of Mount Popa, a volcano 1518m above sea level, where we see numerous Nat temples and relic sites atop the mountain. The initial section of ride is flat with some steep climbs, relatively short hills, in the end to Mount Popa.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 50km / 30mi
Day 7: Meikhtila
A long and rewarding ride through stunning scenery on quiet backroads. Our destination is Meikhtila, an important trade centre on the banks of Lake Meikhtila.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 80km / 48mi
Day 8: Kalaw
A short transfer brings us today to our starting point for cycling. Another long day on a bike today as we leave the plains and enter into the hill town, Kalaw, in the Shan state of Myanmar. The last leg is high in the hills as Kalaw is situated at about 1,350m.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 80km / 48mi
Day 9: Kalaw
Enjoy the cool mountain air and spend the dat at leisure walking around the tree lined streets.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10: Pindaya
The simplicity that you will witness on a bike ride will charm you. Thrilled children watch eagerly as you cycle through terrain that has been off-limits until recently, while farmers tend to paddy fields with their buffaloes and others make their way around in horse drawn carts and cycle rickshaws. Savor the liberating ride. Post-lunch, visit the famous Pindaya caves.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 55km / 33mi*
Day 11: Inle Lake
Today we have a fabulous ride down off the Shan plateau to the famous Inle Lake. The initial stretch is a bit undulating followed by sweeping downhills, taking us to the shores of Inle lake, home to numerous villages situated on stilts.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 60km / 36mi
Day 12: Inle Lake
We start slow with a countryside ride. The stilt villages and floating markets around Inle Lake are a fascinating introduction to the Burmese way of life. You will have plenty of opportunities over a boat ride to interact with leg-rowing fishermen, lotus fibre weavers and fruit and vegetable farmers who live in this region.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance cycled: ~ 30km / 18mi
Day 13: Yangon
We take a flight to Yangon for your onward travel. We recommend to visit more than 2,500 years old Shwedagon Paya, a spectacular stupa in Burma.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 14: Departure
Travel further as per your onward journey.
Meals: Breakfast
*with shuttle – short transfers.
