Day-Trip to Hsithe Village from Mandalay with Lunch

Our professional English speaking guide will collect you from your hotel lobby in Mandalay around 8am by car, then head to the village of Hsithe (approximately 37 miles or 60km north of Mandalay). Enjoy a scenic drive passing through agricultural land, small villages and you can see the daily life of rural Myanmar.

We continue to the east and see the famous Marble Mountains, where the raw material for the marble carvers of Amarapura is mined. Around 10am, we arrive at Singu, an attractive small town on the left bank of the Ayeyarwady River. You will embark on a boat to Hsithe and take the opportunity to discover some wildlife here, such as Ruddy shelduck, Chinese spot-billed duck, Asian open bill and many Black kites and Cormorants. If you are lucky you may also see an Osprey or other migrating birds of prey.

Upon arrival at Hsithe village, enjoy a light refreshments and snacks at the Visitor Center. This bamboo constructed visitor center provide visitors with information about the river, its wildlife and people; provide villagers with the chance to produce and sell their handmade handicrafts. This destinations are part of a national project to conserve the critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins and the cultural traditions of the fishing communities.

Next, we will be taught how to cast the community’s traditional style fishing nets (on dry land, no waters). We will use a light net (as they come with different sizes) and you will have a few trial throws on ground adjacent to the centre. Enjoy and have fun on the fishing boat to practice your fishing skills on shallow waters.

After some fun exercise, a delicious lunch will be served to fill your hungry stomach. After lunch, you will explore around the local village. You can join a lesson to learn how to produce peanut oil using traditional techniques, experience short fishing trips where you can observe and photograph traditional fishing.

Lastly, we will stop off at the visitor centre’s souvenir shop. This stocks interesting and authentic handicrafts for the visitors and in turn provides a much needed source of income for the villagers. We will depart to Singu around 6pm and our driver will transfer you back to your hotel once we arrived in Mandalay after a wonderful trip.