Chindwin and Upper Irrawaddy (19 Days – Upstream)

Embark at Saggai Lay Kyun Man Aung Jetty by 11:30 am.

Please Note: The itinerary for this expedition is indicative only. As we travel to remote areas, changes to the itinerary will inevitably occur. A flexible approach is required if you book this cruise.

We start our Mandalay tour with a visit to the Mahamuni Pagoda with one of the country’s most venerated Buddha images. Continue to a gold leaf and tapestry workshop and walk along the marble & stone carver’s street. Visit a silk and cotton weaving workshop. Travel by bus to the famous “U Bein” bridge, it is about 1.2 km long and is said to be the world’s longest teakwood bridge. It has been built in 1784. With small boats, we sail over the Taungthaman Lake and enjoy the sunset.

Morning cruising. Afternoon visits the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50-gallon water pots are handmade. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the weeklong firing in huge kilns. We then the third defile of the Irrawaddy.

Stop at Khan-nyat village with its many Buddhist monasteries and visit the former head teacher’s house, which also includes his small museum collections. Later we go ashore and climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang with its stunning views of the Irrawaddy.

Arrive at the enchanting colonial town of Katha, setting for George Orwell’s Burmese Days. Little has changed since then. Of interest are the fire station’s collections of Irrawaddy Flotilla Company ship’s bells taken from sunken ships in the Second War. Katha was the final resting place of the old flotilla and here over a hundred ships were scuppered in 1942 in an Act of Denial before the advancing Japanese. We continue to an elephant logging camp at Katha in the hardwood forests of the hills that surround the town and further upstream.

Transfer by local boat to visit Kyun Daw village where we visit countless small Pagodas.

Cruise through the 2nd Defile, the most dramatic of the three gorges with cliffs towering over the narrow channel. Sail downstream.

We explore by foot the ancient city of Tagaung viewing the fortifications, a famous nat or spirit shrine, and the archaeological area.

We cast off early in the morning and stop at Mingun to see the largest working bell in the world and the unfinished pagoda that is the largest single mass of the brick building in the world. We also visit the Mingun Old People’s Home originally established with the assistance of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1930s. Drive through the beautiful Sagaing Hill to the hilltop to enjoy an amazing view over the region and Irrawaddy.

Morning visit to Ava and explore the ruins, visiting Bagaya Kyaung, a 200-year-old royal monastery made of teak with elaborate woodcarvings. In the afternoon arrive at Yandabo village, famous for its production of terracotta pottery from the riverbank clay.

Full day’s exploration of the 3000 plus Pagan monuments by coach.

Disembark after breakfast at 08:30 am at Pagan Ayer Jetty and transfer to your hotel.

Disembark after breakfast and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon continue your exploration of Pagan by a private guide.

You will be picked up between 08:00-08:30 and transfer to the pier in Monywa

Transfer from your hotel to the ship. Lunch on board. Afternoon excursion to see Thandboodi Temple, Bawdhi Tahaung statue and the night market in the evening.

Please Note: The itinerary for this expedition is indicative only. As we travel to remote areas, changes to the itinerary will inevitably occur. A flexible approach is required if you book this cruise.

Morning Excursion by coach to Phowin Taung Hill where we visit the Phowin Taung Caves with beautiful mural paintings and Buddha statues dating back to the 14th and 18th centuries. In the afternoon, we visit the Kyauk Ka Village famous for the making of black Lacquer.

The river narrows and the forested hills fall away to farmland. Enjoy a morning culinary demonstration by our head chef on how to prepare a traditional Burmese Ginger Salad. Arrive in Kanee and take an afternoon walking tour of the village.

Morning cruise upriver. After lunch, we explore Mingkin, rediscovered by Paul Strachan in 1987 and described in some detail in his book Mandalay: Travels from the Golden City. It remains for Paul the most art historically interesting site in Myanmar (more so than the now spoilt Pagan) with its Konbaung court style teak monasteries sumptuously decorated. Mingkin may be described as the Luang Prabang of the Chindwin.

Morning walking tour of Minkin followed by a cruise to Kalewa located at the confluence of the Chindwin and the Myittha Rivers, where we enjoy a walking tour.

Morning visit to Masein Village and then sail to Mawlaik, the town that replaced Kindat as the administrative capital but ironically the Myanma refused to move there from upstream Kindat. It was mainly settled with the company houses of the by the Scottish owned and run Bombay Myanmarh Trading Corporation in the 1920s and 1930s. There are many splendid ‘Dak Bungalows’ set around a verdant golf course. Mawlaik and the other towns of the Upper Chindwin can only be reached by boat so cars are few. There is a dreamy otherworldly quality to such places and truly one feels that one has traveled there in the Pandaw time machine!.

Morning excursion by Tuk Tuk or coach to Bus to view the Teak wood Forest outside Mawlaik. Continue to the Pyar Swe Elephant Camp, a working camp where the elephants are protected in natural surroundings. We then sail to Kalewa where we overnight.

Disembark at Kalewa IWT Jetty and explore Kalewa with its markets and quaint wooden architecture. Continue to Kalay Airport for your onward flight to Rangoon or Mandalay (included in the price of this cruise).

 Please note that airline timings are subject to change depending on domestic flight schedules.

Please note the flight times for your flight from Kalay to Mandalay or Rangoon are currently as follows:

Upstream Kalay flights (Dec – Feb)
Kalay – Yangon K7-227 1545-1815 (Via MDL)
Kalay – Mandalay K7-227 1545-1635 (Direct)

Flight timings are subject to change.