7-Day Classic Myanmar: Yangon, Mandalay & Bagan

Tour Overview

Duration	7 Days / 6 Nights
Country	Myanmar (Burma) — The Golden Land
Cities	Yangon → Mandalay → Bagan → Yangon
Tour Type	Private Tour — Myanmar’s Golden Triangle
Best Season	November–February (cool and dry, peak season)
Price	From US$1,099 per person (4-star hotels, private guide)

Data source: indochinatour.com — Myanmar’s best-selling 7-day itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Yangon — The Garden City

• Yangon Airport Pickup — Welcome by your private guide with a traditional thanaka greeting (the fragrant yellowish paste Burmese wear on their faces as sunscreen and cosmetic). Transfer through Yangon’s tree-lined streets, past crumbling colonial-era buildings that tell stories of when Yangon was one of Asia’s great trading ports
• Shwedagon Pagoda — Myanmar’s most sacred Buddhist site and one of the wonders of the world. This 2,500-year-old golden stupa rises 99 meters above Singuttara Hill, covered in genuine gold plates (an estimated 60 tons) and topped with a 76-carat diamond. Visit in the late afternoon: as the sun sets, the pagoda transforms — the gold glows warm, then cool as the sky darkens. Watch monks in crimson robes, families lighting candles, and pilgrims meditating at the eight planetary posts corresponding to their birth day. This is Myanmar’s spiritual heart
• Welcome Dinner — Enjoy traditional Burmese cuisine: mohinga (the national dish of rice noodles in fish broth), tea leaf salad (laphet thoke), and coconut noodles at a restaurant near the pagoda

Overnight in Yangon.

Day 2: Yangon Colonial Heritage & Local Life

• Yangon Circular Train — Board the slow-moving commuter train that loops around Yangon (20-30 minute ride). This is real Burmese life — vendors hop on and off selling quail eggs, betel nut, and fresh fruit. Watch the city transition from urban downtown to suburban vegetable farms and back. The open windows offer a perfect lens into daily life
• Downtown Heritage Walk — Explore Yangon’s historic downtown, which has the highest concentration of colonial buildings in Southeast Asia. See the grand Strand Hotel (built 1901, once frequented by George Orwell and Somerset Maugham), the imposing red-brick High Court, and the elegant former banks and trading houses on Pansodan Street
• Bogyoke Aung San Market — Yangon’s premier market in a 1926 colonial building. Browse 2,000+ shops selling Burmese lacquerware, jade jewelry, longyi (traditional wrap skirts), puppets, and gemstones — Myanmar is famous for its rubies, sapphires, and jade
• Chauk Htat Gyi Reclining Buddha — A massive 65-meter reclining Buddha with an intricately detailed face and the 108 sacred symbols on the soles of its feet

Overnight in Yangon.

Day 3: Fly to Mandalay — The Last Royal Capital

• Morning Flight to Mandalay — 1.5-hour flight to Myanmar’s cultural capital
• Mahamuni Pagoda — Home to Myanmar’s second-most sacred Buddha image. The Mahamuni Buddha is a 4-meter bronze statue covered in thick layers of gold leaf applied by male devotees over centuries (approximately 15cm of gold has accumulated). The face is washed each dawn in a ritual ceremony
• Gold Leaf Workshop — Watch artisans pound gold into impossibly thin sheets — thinner than a human hair. Five men swing heavy hammers in rhythm for hours to create the gold leaf that devotees apply to Buddha images across Myanmar
• Shwenandaw Monastery (Golden Palace) — The only surviving building from the 19th-century Royal Palace, moved and converted to a monastery by King Thibaw. Every surface is covered in exquisite teak woodcarvings — Jataka tales, mythical beasts, and intricate floral patterns
• Kuthodaw Pagoda — The “World’s Largest Book.” This complex contains 729 white marble slabs, each inscribed with a page of Buddhist scripture, housed in individual small white stupas. It would take 8 hours of continuous reading to complete the “book”
• Sunset at Mandalay Hill — Take the covered stairway (or drive) to the summit for panoramic views: the Irrawaddy River snaking through the plains, the Shan Hills in the distance, and Mandalay spread below. The sunset over the river is spectacular

Overnight in Mandalay.

Day 4: Ancient Capitals Around Mandalay

• Amarapura — U Bein Bridge — Visit the world’s longest (1.2km) and oldest teakwood bridge at sunrise. Built in 1850 from salvaged palace teak, the bridge spans Taungthaman Lake. At dawn, monks in crimson robes cross the bridge, fishermen cast nets from small boats, and the entire scene is reflected perfectly in the still water — one of Myanmar’s most iconic and photogenic moments
• Mahagandayon Monastery — Myanmar’s largest teaching monastery, home to over 1,000 monks. Observe the morning meal ritual — a long procession of monks carrying alms bowls, receiving food from lay devotees, in complete silence
• Inwa (Ava) Ancient Capital — Cross the river by small ferry, then explore this island capital by horse cart. Visit the 27-meter leaning watchtower (all that remains of King Bagyidaw’s palace), the exquisite Maha Aungmye Bonzan brick monastery, and the atmospheric Bagaya Monastery with its 267 teak pillars
• Sagaing Hill — Across the Irrawaddy River, Sagaing is Myanmar’s spiritual retreat with over 600 monasteries and nunneries dotting the hills. Visit Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda for stunning views of the Irrawaddy River and countless white and gold stupas scattered across the hills

Overnight in Mandalay.

Day 5: Bagan — The City of 4,000 Temples

• Morning Flight to Bagan — 30-minute flight to the Bagan Archaeological Zone, a 42 km² plain studded with over 2,200 surviving temples and pagodas (from an original 10,000+)
• Shwezigon Pagoda — Bagan’s most important temple, a prototype for all later Burmese stupas. Covered in real gold, it’s said to enshrine a Buddha tooth and frontal bone. The complex is alive with pilgrims and vendors selling flowers and gold leaf
• Ananda Temple — The “Westminster Abbey of Burma,” Bagan’s most beautiful temple. Built in 1105, its perfectly proportioned architecture features four massive standing Buddha images, each 9.5 meters tall, facing the cardinal directions. When you’re close, the Buddha’s face appears solemn; step back, and a gentle smile emerges — the optical illusion of distance and compassion
• Thatbyinnyu Temple — Bagan’s tallest monument at 61 meters, a whitewashed masterpiece of the middle period. Its name means “Omniscience”
• Dhammayangyi Temple — Bagan’s largest and most enigmatic temple, built by King Narathu (who killed his father and brother to gain the throne). The brickwork is so perfectly fitted that not even a needle can be inserted between the bricks
• Sunset from a Temple Terrace — Climb one of the permitted temples for the quintessential Bagan experience: watching the sun set over a landscape of countless pagodas stretching to the horizon, the Irrawaddy River glinting gold in the distance

Overnight in Bagan.

Day 6: Bagan Deeper Discovery

• Hot Air Balloon Over Bagan (Optional) — Pre-dawn balloon flight over the temple plain is one of the world’s great travel experiences. As the sun rises over the Shan Mountains, balloons drift silently above thousands of ancient pagodas emerging from morning mist (seasonal: October–March, additional cost)
• Nyaung U Market — Bagan’s bustling local market, where farmers trade fresh produce, women sell thanaka and textiles, and the rhythm of rural Burmese life plays out in vivid color and aroma
• Sulamani Temple — One of Bagan’s best-preserved temples (built 1183), with exquisite frescoes and well-lit interior corridors. The name means “Crowning Jewel”
• Lacquerware Workshop — Bagan is the center of Burmese lacquerware, a craft practiced for over 1,000 years. Visit a family workshop to see the painstaking process: bamboo and horsehair frames, countless layers of natural lacquer, and intricate hand-engraved designs. A single high-quality piece can take 6-12 months to complete
• Mount Popa — A 1.5-hour drive from Bagan to this extinct volcano (1,518m), crowned by the dramatic Popa Taungkalat monastery perched on a volcanic plug. Climb the 777 steps (guarded by cheeky monkeys) to the summit shrine dedicated to the 37 Nats (spirits) of Burmese animist belief. The panoramic views from the top are extraordinary
• Final Bagan Sunset — A last Bagan sunset from a different temple, savoring the golden light on ancient brick and the spiritual atmosphere of this timeless place

Overnight in Bagan.

Day 7: Bagan → Yangon & Farewell

• Morning at Leisure — Optional e-bike ride through the temple plain at dawn for final photos, or a last visit to a favorite pagoda
• Fly to Yangon — 1.5-hour flight back to Yangon
• Farewell Myanmar — Transfer to Yangon International Airport. Depart with memories of a land where thousands of golden pagodas pierce the sky, monks walk barefoot at dawn, and the Irrawaddy River flows through a timeless landscape that has changed little in centuries. Myanmar — the Golden Land — will stay with you forever

Inclusions

• ✅ 6 nights in comfortable 4-star hotels (2 Yangon, 2 Mandalay, 2 Bagan)
• ✅ Professional English-speaking Burmese guide throughout
• ✅ 3 domestic flights: Yangon→Mandalay, Mandalay→Bagan, Bagan→Yangon
• ✅ All entrance fees to listed pagodas, temples, and attractions
• ✅ Inwa horse cart tour and ferry crossing
• ✅ Yangon circular train ride
• ✅ Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver
• ✅ Daily breakfast + 3 lunches
• ✅ Airport transfers on all arrivals and departures
• ✅ 24/7 local support

Exclusions

• ❌ International flights to/from Myanmar
• ❌ Myanmar visa (e-visa available online, US$50)
• ❌ Travel insurance
• ❌ Tips and gratuities
• ❌ Personal expenses and souvenirs
• ❌ Meals and drinks not specified
• ❌ Bagan temple zone fee (US$20, payable on arrival)
• ❌ Hot air balloon ride (optional add-on)