Adventure Travel and Unique Tours

7 days - 6 nights

Highlights:

- Cultural sites in untouristed destinations

- Private guided tours

- Interacting with Chin people

- Exploring remote mountain villages

- Hiking to the summit of Mt. Victoria

Day 1 We will depart Mandalay by private car through countryside, villages and farms to the town of Myingyan where we will visit a local monastery in which the preserved body of a revered Buddhist monk has been sitting in meditation for the past sixty years. We will also examine the Buddhist relics of Myingyan and local Cheroot cigar production as well as village life along the Irrawaddy River before arriving at Bagan where we will enjoy a free evening to relax or explore.

Day 2 We will visit the highlights of the Bagan archeological park with an expert private guide and driver. We will enjoy a luxurious lunch by the Irrawaddy River and be able to experience an amazing sunset from a view up high over the temple plains.

Day 3 We will depart early by private car south along the Irrawaddy River to the intricately carved wooden monastery of Salay. We will continue through the countryside where we will stop to experience village and farm production in the region such as oil produced by oxen and the collection of toddy palm sugar and the many products made from that. From there, we will continue on to Mount Popa, an extinct volcano that rises above the surrounding plains and houses Myanmar's most holy pilgrimage site, a temple shrine home to many powerful Nat spirits. We will follow a spiraling staircase through Nat shrines with pilgrims and macaque monkeys as we ascend to the summit. We will return to Bagan in the afternoon, where after a short rest we will depart by boat on the Irrawaddy River to a cave temple and enjoy sunset over the river on our return.

Day 4 From Bagan we depart by jeep and cross the Irrawaddy River where we pass through small villages and farms as well as the barren desert plains of Western Burma before the road climbs into the hills and the vegetation becomes lush and green. We will stop for breaks at small villages along the way before arriving in the picturesque Chin village overhanging the mountains edge. There we will meet our local guide and go exploring in the village and surrounding area. Afterwards, we will continue to a forest guesthouse in the mountains above the village.

Day 5 We travel by jeep along a winding mountain road up Mount Victoria until we reach a foot trail. From here we will hike through an area of magnificent mountain views, forests and nature to the summit of Mount Victoria. This area is home to an assortment of wildlife and it may be possible to see leopard and bear prints among other animals as well a colorful assortment of bird life. As we ascend to the peak, we see a change in flora from deciduous forests to pine and hill savannah as we climb to over 10,000 feet in elevation. This area is abundant in wild flowers, wild orchids and butterflies. After lunch at the summit and our descent, we will continue down the opposite face of Mount Victoria by jeep to a small ethnic Chin village where we will spend the night.

Day 6 We will hike though the Chin villages of Mount Victoria's north face and explore the Chin way of life and amazing settings of these mountain settlements before continuing by jeep on to Mindat town, a scenic regional center in Chin State's Nat Ma Taung region. Here we will stay overnight in a comfortable guesthouse.

Day 7 We will explore the fascinating town of Mindat with its mixture of traditional Chin cultures and traditions before departing by jeep along a route that follows a slow descent through the mountains towards the Irrawaddy River town of Pokkoku. Here we will break to visit some of this regions unique cultural sites before returning to Bagan.