ULTIMATE BURMA

Day 1 Arrive in Yangon

Arrive in Yangon, where you will be met on arrival and transferred to your excellent hotel, a colonial masterpiece in the heart of the city. Built in 1901, The Strand Hotel Yangon is evocative of a long-gone Victorian era, with rattan chairs, teak panelling and Chesterfield sofas, all brought bang up-to-date following a sensitive restoration. You'll enjoy some of the best service in Burma.

Overnight: The Strand Hotel Yangon

Day 2 Yangon

After breakfast, your guide will meet you for a comprehensive tour of the splendid city of Yangon. Start on the local train to get a flavour of the real city and pause at the magnificent Insein produce market. Other highlights include a stroll around the crumbling colonial quarter, a ferry ride across the river to explore the commuter town of Dala by trishaw, and visits to the Botataung & Shwedagon Pagodas.

Overnight: The Strand Hotel Yangon

Day 3 Yangon

Spend a second day with your guide and driver, exploring Yangon. Start at the colourful, teeming Indian market, where residents buy their fresh produce each day. Head then to see the vast reclining Buddha in the Chaukhtatkyi Pagoda before ending at Scott Market, which is a wonderful warren of shops and stalls selling all manner of Burmese products and handicrafts, shipped in from all corners of the country.

Overnight: The Strand Hotel Yangon

Day 4 Bagan

Fly to Bagan in the early morning and spend the day uncovering the endless landscape of over 4,000 temples alongside your private guide, who will help you decide what to see and make sense of it all. See any or all of the 12th Century Shwezigon Pagoda, the Cave Temple of Gubyauki Pagoda, the three storey high Htilominlo Temple and the brick-built Ananda Okkyaung, the best preserved masterpiece of Mon architecture. See too the 12th Century cross-shaped Thatbyinnyu Temple, the tallest in Bagan, and then the largest temple, the Dhammayangyi. Finish the day aboard a boat enjoying the sunset.

Overnight: Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort

Day 5 Bagan

When you are ready, spend the morning exploring Bagan by bike with your guide, which allows you to get to some of the more remote parts of the site. You can explore the Archaeological Museum, as well as Bu-Paya, believed to have been built by the third king of Bagan who ruled from 168 to 243 AD. You are also free to explore the less well-visited temples like Satu-Mukha and U-pali-thein. Relax in the afternoon by the banks of the Irrawaddy River prior to the next phase of your journey.

Overnight: Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort

Day 6 Mandalay

Fly to Mandalay before crossing the river by traditional wooden boat and exploring the ancient capital of Ava by horse-drawn cart. After lunch, board a private boat and head up the Irrawaddy River to the village of Mingun, where you can see the huge and crumbling 'Unfinished Pagoda', the Mingun Bell (the largest ringing bell in the world), and the truly beautiful Sin Phyu Me Stupa, which was built by a Burmese King mourning the death of his wife - a Burmese Taj Mahal, if you will. This evening, we recommend exploring Mandalay's melting pot of flavours (thanks to settlers from Nepal, India and various indigenous groups) at one of the many excellent local restaurants.

Overnight: Rupar Mandalar

Day 7 Mandalay

With your guide, explore more of Mandalay. There is the Maha-myat-muni Pagoda, the most revered Buddha image in the city, the Golden Teak Monastery and the ZeyCho Market - not to mention the iconic wooden U-Bein Bridge. You could also see Sagaing on the western bank of the Ayeyarwaddy, where thousands of monks and nuns retreat to hundreds of stupas, monasteries, temples and nunneries for meditation and contemplation.

Overnight: Rupar Mandalar

Day 8 Hsipaw

Leave Mandalay by car and drive north-east to the little town of Naung Cho, where you catch the train through the hills and over the amazing Gokteik viaduct (the largest railway trestle in the world) to Naung Pain. Here disembark the train and continue by car to Hsipaw, a pleasant Shan town on the Dokhtawaddy River. Explore the town and see the very English Hsipaw Haw by bike or on foot in the late afternoon, hopefully meeting Fern, a relative of the last Shan Prince to live in the Haw.

Overnight: Riverside @ Hsipaw Resort

Day 9 Hsipaw

Rise early to visit the excellent market if you wish, before spending the day exploring by private river boat and on foot. Stroll among some charming Shan villages with their amazing wooden houses and head on a journey up the river in a longtail boat.

Overnight: Riverside @ Hsipaw Resort

Day 10 Maymyo

Start early and travel back to Mandalay via the hill station of Maymyo, formerly the seat of the British Government during the summer months. There you can visit the Botanical Gardens and take a stagecoach ride, passing some of the many brick and timber colonial houses which adorn the town.

Overnight: Rupar Mandalar

Day 11 Kachin State

Fly to the very far north of Myanmar, to the town of Putao in Kachin State. When you arrive you will be met and driven to your luxurious wilderness lodge, nestled right under the Himalayas. In the afternoon, choose from a selection of walks, bike rides, elephant encounters, visits to local villages and rafting trips on offer at your lodge.

Overnight: Malikha Lodge

Day 12 Himalayan Foothills

Choose once again from one of the activities on offer at the lodge: hike through the bamboo forest to Nam Htu creek and across to the Rawang tribe village under the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas; walk through Lisu Tribe and Kachin Tribe villages to a picnic spot by the river; or why not walk to the river, pick up a raft and float downstream to an island for lunch?

Overnight: Malikha Lodge

Day 13 Putao

Explore Putao's morning market before breakfast and a transfer to Putao airport for a flight back to Mandalay, where you are met and transferred to your hotel. Spend what is left of the day relaxing by the pool after your busy time in the mountains.

Overnight: Rupar Mandalar

Day 14 Kalaw

This morning you will be taken to the airport for your flight to Heho, where you will be met on arrival and driven up into the hills to the former hill station of Kalaw. Spend time exploring the town, with its colonial houses, Anglican church, former boarding school and old post office, before an evening at your charming hotel in the hills above Kalaw.

Overnight: Amara Mountain Resort

Day 15 Inle Lake

Depart your hotel today for the two-hour drive down to Inle Lake, stopping along the way to see the Green Hill Valley Elephant Foundation - a retirement home for old timber elephants, where you can enjoy a lovely walk through the estate and interaction with the elephants. When you arrive at Inle Lake, one of Burma's most fascinating and serene destinations, you will board a longtail boat and head for your lakeside hotel.

Overnight: Villa Inle Resort

Day 16 Inle Lake

Spend a full day exploring the lake with your guide, in your private longtail boat. See Indein with its crumbling pagodas, as well as the amazing floating gardens. Your guide will plan the day based on your interests and preferences.

Overnight: Villa Inle Resort

Day 17 Inle Lake

Spend a second day with your guide and private longtail boat at your disposal, exploring the extremely photogenic Inle Lake. Perhaps head away from the crowds to the far south, which is less frequented by the many visitors, or catch a colourful five-day market, which teems with ethnic minorities in their traditional tribal dresses, who come down from the villages in the surrounding hills to sell their produce and meet friends.

Overnight: Villa Inle Resort

Day 18 - 20 Ngapali Beach

Transfer to the airport for your morning flight to Thandwe. From there it is just a short drive to Sandoway, located on the sands of Ngapali Beach. Spend the next three days here, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of your private bungalow and reflecting on your journey through Burma.

Overnight: Sandoway Resort

Day 21 Travel home

Fly back to Yangon and catch your flight home.