Private Full-Day Ancient Cities, Pagodas & Sunset Tour

Start your Mandalay tour by traveling 20 kilometers southwest of the city to arrive at Pagoda Nirvana, or Sagaing as it’s known on the map. Sagaing is an important religious center that’s home to dozens of monasteries and hundreds of monks. Pagoda towers dot the pretty landscape to make for picture-perfect, bucket list inspired photography. You will visit the University of Sitagu to learn more about Buddhism and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment before making a stop at Myasetkyar Monastery, famous for its giant (huge) standing Buddha statue. Here, you will observe the monk’s lunchtime parade and rituals. 

Then, get whisked off on a public ferry and into a horse-drawn cart, which will take you to Inwa, the ancient capital of Myanmar on the other side of the Irrawaddy River. By now, you will have worked up an appetite so you will stop at a riverside restaurant to sample some local dishes such as 'mohinga' (rice noodle and fish soup) and 'laphet thohk' (pickled tea leaf salad). Inwa used to be the capital of Myanmar, so it is rich in history. There are some stunning monasteries and pagoda complexes to explore, including the Yadana Hsimi Pagodas, a little tumbledown roofless collection of several stupas and three Buddhas. Much of the former royal city has been reclaimed by mother nature and agriculture, so as well as weaving your way around crumbling architectural gems, you will also walk through luscious fields of banana trees and see rice being sown in one of the paddies. 

Your lost stop of the day will be Amarapura, another former capital known for its silk and cotton weaving industry. Here, you will navigate one of the most photographed sites in Myanmar, the Ubein Bridge — an impressive teak structure that claims to be the longest wooden bridge in the world at 1.2 kilometers. The monks who use the bridge to cross Lake Taungthaman every day often take time to talk to visitors in order to practice their language skills. Then, a brilliant orange sunset awaits you. This will be the time to reflect on your day, gazing at the antiquated bridge with the sun setting behind it. One of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism is to develop the mind. Take this Mandalay tour with an amazing local guide and give your mind the workout it deserves.