LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: The Big-Four Expansion
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FOUR WEEKS / YANGON TO MRAUK U
Build more memories by doing the ‘Big Four’; then pick one seven-day or two three-day side trips (treks, boat rides, beaches, lesser-seen towns) to fill your visa’s 28 days
Take a few days in Yangon, and see Shwedagon Paya, Aung San's old home, and wander around downtown. Take a bus or taxi to Bago to see a Buddha extravaganza by day, then continue on to Kyaiktiyo for the night; wake up by doing a truck/trek up to the balance-act that is the Golden Rock. From Kyaiktiyo, get to Kalaw, for some treks in the Shan Hills, spend a day at Pindaya Caves to see their 8000 Buddha images and explore Inle Lake for a few days. In October/November, you can see the balloon festival in Taunggyi, where you can catch a ride to Mandalay, where you can visit four ancient cities: Mingun, Amarapura, Inwa and Sagaing. From Mandalay, take a boat to Bagan, allowing three days to temple-hop and honour the nat (spirit) at Mt Popa. Bus or taxi to Pyay to see the ruins of the ancient Pyu city by ox cart.
Two options for the rest of your stay: add on three days from Kyaiktiyo, by bussing to Mawlamyine near the end of the WWII ‘Death Railway’, then take Myanmar’s loveliest boat ride to Hpa-an for a mountain climb and lunch, with monkeys. Then, when in Mandalay, add a three-day trip to refreshingly cooler Pyin U Lwin, a flower-scented hill station with waterfalls, and do a DIY trek in Hsipaw. Or scrap those two side trips, and take a six-day trip from Pyay firstly to Mrauk U, the Rakhaing’s hillocky version of Bagan and then snorkel and eat seafood at Ngapali Beach. From here, take a flight or a bus ride to Yangon.
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