Keen Biking Sundry With 11 Days

KEEN BIKING SUNDRY WITH

Day 1: Yangon - Heho

Our staff will deliver the flight tickets. (Please advice the place for the delivery)

Flight to Heho (tentative timing subject to change without prior notice: 1030- 1140H.)

On arrival to Heho, welcomed by the guide and transfer to Nyaung Shwe by bus.

The bikes will be at disposal for a ride around the town or to Taunggyi depends on your arrival time

Overnight in Nyaung Shwe.

Day 2: Inle Lake (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning bike trip to Nam Pan village where the boats will be waiting. (60% sealed roads, 30% hard pack but with large stones, 10% dirt track) The ride will take around 3 hours depending on stopping time. If the day’s market is in Maing Thauk or Nam Pan we will leave a bit earlier so that we can stop and visit the market on the way.

Upon arriving in Nam Pan we will meet our boats for a private boat tour of Inle Lake (5 pax/boat) and stop for lunch at a restaurant nearby (client’s account)

See leg-rowing fishermen, the floating gardens, built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles. Visit to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the weaving village of Inpawkhone and the jumping cat monastery.

Return to Nyaung Shwe early evening.

Overnight in Nyaung Shwe.

Day 3: Inle Lake – Kalaw (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure for a ride toward Kalaw by passing through the Shan Hills.

Arrival to Kalaw in the afternoon.

Biking distance: 65 KM (ups and downs – tarmac)

Day 4: Kalaw – Pindaya (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, enjoy a scenic ride to Pindaya (1200m) through the picturesque countryside of Shan State, passing fields where often people of the Pa O hill tribe with black clothes and colourful orange headdresses are working.

Visit Pindaya’s limestone cave with its maze of chambers displaying more than 8,000 Buddha statues.

Overnight at Golden Cave Hotel.

Biking distance: 48 KM (easy ups and downs, dirt road and tarmac, - 120m)

Day 5: Pindaya Trekking (B,L)

This morning, you will set off for a full day trek in the hills surrounding Pindaya. The landscape is beautiful with hills alternating with farms and villages. After a hike about 1 hour of 30-45º slope, you will reach to a Danu village. Visit to local people and interact to observe their unique cultures. Then continue to hike another one hour on 40-50º slope to Se Kya Inn village. The main economy of these villages depend on tea plantation and you will see them on the way. There are also seasonal crops such as wheat, potato, ginger, etc and mandarin is a new popular plantation in this region.

You will have a lunch break at one of the village house.

After exploring around the village, you will trek down to Pindaya again.

Overnight at Golden Cave Hotel.

Hiking distance: approximately 4 hours, rolling hills (30-50% slope), dirt tracks

Day 6: Pindaya - Mandalay (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, cycle toward the central plain of Myanmar. The group will ride for about 100 KM and do the rest of it by bus.

Arrival to Mandalay in the evening.

Overnight in Mandalay.

Biking distance: 100 KM (easy ups and downs, dirt road and tarmac)

Day 7: Mandalay (B)

This morning we will head out east of Mandalay for a fabulous cycling tour through the villages. The first 4-5 kilometres take us through the city but soon the traffic lightens and the scenery begins to change with few concrete buildings and views of the hills in the distance. We’ll pass by a local morning market after around 6 kilometres and have a chance to stop, walk around and taste some fresh cooked snacks or buy fruits for the journey. The continue on toward Yankin Hill where we wind around a shady road lined with temples, monasteries and schools. We loop back on a different street and pass through more villages, including one making traditional paper fans, before reaching Mandalay midday.

Return to Mandalay city in time for lunch.

Have a short rest at the hotel or at a local tea shop before hopping back on the bikes for a trip to Mandalay Hill. You can opt to cycle up the winding roads to the top or hop in the bus for an easy ride. Watch the sunset over Mandalay hill before returning by bike to the hotel.

Overnight in Mandalay.

Biking distance: 25-30 kilometres; 90% sealed road, 10% hard pack; flat throughout

Day 8: Mandalay – Bagan (B, L, D)

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for the flight to Nyaung Oo (Bagan’s airport).

Upon arrival to Bagan, transfer to your hotel and check in. Lunch is included at your hotel.

This evening you’ll head to one of the many pagoda’s of Bagan to watch the sunset over the surrounding planes.

Dinner this evening will be at Sunset Garden.

Overnight in Bagan

Day 9: Bagan (B,L)

Today we spend the full day exploring Bagan. Thousands of ancient stupas and temples in this area make Bagan, one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in Asia. From the 11th till 13th century, when Bagan was the capital of Myanmar, the rulers constructed huge stupas and temples, many of which are still standing today on the banks of the Irrawaddy River.

We’ll start today’s tour at Tayokye Pyay for a first overview over the plain of Bagan. We continue with the Shwezigon Pagoda and its magnificent golden stupa, followed by Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple with exquisite jatakas murals paintings and the elegant Htilominlo Temple noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations.

Lunch at Shwe Myanmar Restaurant.

In the afternoon, visit Ananda, an architectural masterpiece of the early-style temple and Ananda Okkyaung is one of the few surviving brick monasteries from the early Bagan period.

End the day with a horse carriage tour among the temples starting at Ananda and passing Thatbyinnyu, the highest temple in Bagan, the massive Dhammayangyi Temple noted for its remarkable brickwork and Sulamani.

Evening at leisure (dinner on client’s account).

Overnight in Bagan.

Day 10: Bagan – Mt Popa (B,L,D)

This morning is free at your leisure to explore Bagan. Around 11 AM we’ll depart for Mount Popa, home to Burma’s most revered Nat shrines.

En route we’ll stop at a local village producing toddy wine from the palm fruit. Watch the many steps of this fascinating process and sample the products. Then continue toward Mount Popa and have lunch at a local restaurant.

Reaching Mt Popa mid-afternoon, join the local Burmese pilgrims and walk to the top of the 650-metre peak passing many shrines along the way. The walk is rewarded by spectacular views of the surrounding planes and villages.

Continue uphill to Mt Popa Resort and check-in to your hotel.

Dinner is at the hotel this evening.

Overnight in Mt Popa.