Experience the re-emergence of Myanmar (formerly Burma). After years of isolation, this exotic land has opened its doors to travelers. Our Myanmar tour will take you from Yangon’s gold-encrusted Shwedagon Pagoda to mind-boggling Bagan where 2,000 pagodas and temples dot the plain. Travel to Myanmar with Classic Journeys and you’ll see the country’s essential landmarks. But most of all, we’ll immerse you in the lovely countryside and the lives of the people whose local traditions continue. You’ll lunch with the owner of a stilted house on Inle lake. We’ll introduce you to floating farmers, lacquerware artisans, schoolchildren, and ethnic tribespeople in village markets. Throughout you’ll stay in an array of fine accommodations—eco-resorts to gracious converted mansions. As you travel through Myanmar, you will have a tremendous opportunity to see, hear and feel the excitement as the Burmese preserve their traditions and create their new culture of independence.

DAY 1 - YANGON
We meet in Yangon and begin our Myanmar tour together with a guided walk that includes the bustling Bogyoke Aung San Market and the shimmering Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset.

DAYS 2-4 - INLE LAKE / NYAUNG SHWE
A short flight takes us to the Inle Lake region where our first stop is the Red Mountain Estate Vineyards for a guided walk, lunch and wine tasting. From our resort on the shores of the placid lake, we visit a private home on stilts for lunch and a lesson in cigar making. We’ll also explore a village of silk weavers...meet the farmers whose “fields” float on the lake...and visit a small village school. Other forays take us to the 5 Day Market and a private visit to a rural village. On a fascinating eco-centric day, we’ll help feed and bathe the elephants at the Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp before climbing up for a ride. To help preserve their habitat, we’ll also pitch in to help plant native trees.

DAY 5 - MANDALAY
In Mandalay, the one-time royal capital, we’ll be welcomed at Mahagandayon Monastery where 1,000 Buddhist monks live and study and walk the scenic teak U Bein bridge.

DAYS 6-9 - BAGAN / YANGON
Another quick flight positions us for several fascinating days to experience Bagan, where more than 2,000 pagodas, temples and monasteries crowd a tree-covered plain. We’ll go exploring on foot, by pony cart and on an optional hot-air balloon ascension. You’ll have a chance to meet the lacquer ware artisans, too, before witnessing the sunset from the top of one of the ancient pagodas. On the final day of our tour of Myanmar, we travel back to Yangon.