Itinerary 
UPSTREAM ITINERARY (click to view the DOWNSTREAM ITINERARY)
Our 9-night itinerary on the mysterious Irrawaddy River, as listed below, sails upstream from Yangon to Mandalay. Details of the downstream itinerary are listed below. Guests may enhance their Myanmar visit with extensions to Yangon and the Shwedagon Pagoda and/or Inle Lake.
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DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 |
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DAY 4
SALAY & TAN KYI MOUNTAIN
Salay, the site of our morning visit, is a village founded in the 13th century with Bagan-era shrines, beautiful 19th century teak monasteries, and preserved British colonial buildings. After lunch, we continue upstream to the village of Tan Kyi, where we us WW2-era jeeps to reach the summit, where one of the four stupas that marked the original edges of the city stands, and enjoy the scenery over the Bagan plains before returning to the ship for dinner.
(B/L/D)
DAY 5
BAGAN
We disembark this morning to enjoy a full day’s visit of the most significant pagodas and temples of the more than 2,000 in and around Bagan. Following lunch on board, local oxcarts take us to view the sunset atop one of the most significant temples in the area.
(B/L/D)
DAY 6
BAGAN / SHWE PYI THAR
Explore some of Bagan's local markets for wood carvings, fabrics, longyis and rattan products, then visit a traditional Burmese lacquerware workshop. Guests may also hire a horse cart or a bicycle to explore the site on their own, or enjoy a splendid early morning, hot air balloon flight over Bagan (optional excursion, surcharge applies). This afternoon we sail to Shwe Pyi Thar village for leisurely walk through a typical village along the Irrawaddy River. After dinner this evening, a local group will present a traditional puppet show.
(B/L/D/Cultural Performance)
DAY 7
YANDABO
This morning we arrive at Yandabo, a picturesque village famous for its pottery, and where the peace treaty of the First Anglo-Burmese war was signed on February 24, 1826. We will walk through the village, stopping at workshops to witness their craft and the interesting way of firing their pottery, and ending our walk with a visit to the local school and the monastery.
(B/L/D)
DAY 8
MONYWA (HPOWINDAUNG AND SHWEBADAUNG CAVES)
We depart early this morning for Monywa to visit the Hpowindaung and Shwebadaung Caves where hundreds of Buddha Statues are placed inside niches decorated with wonderful mural paintings. After lunch, we visit the splendid Sambuddhai Kat Kyaw pagoda with its more than 500,000 Buddha images, before rejoining the ship in Sagaing.
(B/L/D)
DAY 9
MINGUN / AVA / AMARAPURA
After an early breakfast, we visit Mingun, the famous “unfinished pagoda,” and the largest working bell in the world. After lunch, we explore Ava by horse cart, visiting the beautiful 200-year-old, teak Bagaya Kyaung Monastery, Nanmyin watchtower, and the Me Nu Ok Kyaung monastery. We then travel to Amarapura, the penultimate Burmese Royal Capital (1783) to visit U-Bein Bridge at sunset, where we enjoy a sampan cruise and champagne toast before returning to the ship for our farewell dinner. Following dinner, guests will enjoy a dance and theatre performance.
(B/L/Farewell Dinner/Cultural Performance)
DAY 10
DISEMBARKATION / CENTRAL MANDALAY
After breakfast, we will disembark and visit two important sites in central Mandalay: Mahamuni Pagoda on Mandalay Hill, where spiraling staircases lead to sweeping views of the city and its temples, and Kuthodaw Paya, which contains the world's biggest book. We then visit traditional workshops of gold leaf, tapestry making, woodcarving, marble carving and bronze casting.
(B)
DOWNSTREAM ITINERARY (click to return to the UPSTREAM ITINERARY)
DAY 1
MANDALAY / EMBARKATION / MINGUN
Our journey begins in Mandalay, where we visit two important sites in central Mandalay: Mahamuni Pagoda on Mandalay Hill, where spiraling staircases lead to sweeping views of the city and its temples, and Kuthodaw Paya, which contains the world's biggest book. We then visit traditional workshops of gold leaf, tapestry making, woodcarving, marble carving and bronze casting. This afternoon, we board the all-suite Irrawaddy Explorer, meet the gracious crew, and sail to Mingun, where we enjoy a short walking tour of the village, stopping at the large, unfinished pagoda and the largest working bell in the world.
(Welcome Reception/Welcome Dinner)
DAY 2
AVA / AMARAPURA
This morning, we explore Ava by horse cart, visiting the beautiful 200-year-old, teak Bagaya Kyaung Monastery, Nanmyin watchtower, and the Me Nu Ok Kyaung monastery. After lunch we travel to Amarapura, the penultimate Burmese Royal Capital (1783) to visit U-Bein Bridge at sunset, where we enjoy a sampan cruise on the lake before returning to the ship for dinner. Following dinner, guests will enjoy a dance and theatre performance.
(B/L/Farewell Dinner/Cultural Performance)
DAY 3
MONYWA (HPOWINDAUNG AND SHWEBADAUNG CAVES)
We depart early this morning for Monywa to visit the Hpowindaung and Shwebadaung Caves where hundreds of Buddha Statues are placed inside niches decorated with wonderful mural paintings. After lunch, we visit the splendid Sambuddhai Kat Kyaw pagoda with its more than 500,000 Buddha images, before rejoining the ship in Sagaing.
(B/L/D)
DAY 4
YANDABO / SHWE PYI THAR
This morning we arrive at Yandabo, a picturesque village famous for its pottery, and where the peace treaty of the First Anglo-Burmese war was signed on February 24, 1826. We will walk through the village, stopping at workshops to witness their craft and the interesting way of firing their pottery, and ending our walk with a visit to the local school and the monastery. This afternoon we sail to Shwe Pyi Thar village for leisurely walk through a typical village along the Irrawaddy River. After dinner this evening, a local group will present a traditional puppet show.
(B/L/D/Cultural Performance)
DAY 5
BAGAN
We disembark this morning to enjoy a full day’s visit of the most significant pagodas and temples of the more than 2,000 in and around Bagan. Following lunch on board, local oxcarts take us to view the sunset atop one of the most significant temples in the area.
(B/L/D)
DAY 6
BAGAN / TAN KYI MOUNTAIN
Explore some of Bagan's local markets for wood carvings, fabrics, longyis and rattan products, then visit a traditional Burmese lacquerware workshop. Guests may also hire a horse cart or a bicycle to explore the site on their own, or enjoy a splendid early morning, hot air balloon flight over Bagan (optional excursion, surcharge applies). After lunch, we continue upstream to the village of Tan Kyi, where we us WW2-era jeeps to reach the summit, where one of the four stupas that marked the original edges of the city stands, and enjoy the scenery over the Bagan plains before returning to the ship for dinner.
(B/L/D)
DAY 7
SALAY
Salay, the site of our morning visit, is a village founded in the 13th century with Bagan-era shrines, beautiful 19th century teak monasteries, and preserved British colonial buildings.
(B/L/D)
DAY 8
MAGWE / THAYETMYO
We arrive at Magwe this morning, and visit Myat Than Lun Paya, a pagoda built in 1929 of solid gold bricks set on a hilltop with a beautiful panoramic vantage point. In the afternoon, we explore the town of Thayetmyo, visiting the oldest golf course in Myanmar, with a fascinating history, and the local market, as well as several colonial homes constructed during the British colonization of Burma.
(B/L/D)
DAY 9
PROME (PYAY)
Once controlled by the Mon tribe during the Bagan Era, then conquered by the Burmese King Alaungpaya in 1754, Prome boomed along with the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1890's and it is now an important trading post. This morning, we drive to Thayekhittaya (also known as Sri Ksetra, the "Fabulous City" in the Pali language), an ancient Pyu city that ruled in this area between the 5th and 9th centuries. In central Prome, we visit the impressive Shwesandaw Pagoda complex, one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Myanmar, and the Wunchataung Paya (Apology Mountain Pagoda) a fabulous vantage point of the Shwesandaw Pagoda and the surrounding mountains.
(B/L/Farewell Dinner)
DAY 10
PROME (PYAY) / DISEMBARKATION / YANGON
After an early breakfast, we say good-bye to the Irrawaddy Explorer and her crew, and enjoy a scenic transfer to Yangon.
(B/Box Lunch)
