Upper Irrawaddy Cruise Pandaw – 13 days

Transfer from the airport check in to the 4 star Dusit Inya Lake Hotel. Lunch and rest. We visit the Shwedagon for the sunset followed by a welcome dinner at the hotel.

Transfer to ship by local bus, Bhamo. Cruise through the 2nd Defile, the most dramatic of the three gorges with cliffs towering over the narrow channel. Reach Bhamo in the afternoon for an evening walking tour of this important trading town set close to the Chinese border.

Chartering a smaller ‘country boat’ we will proceed upstream from Bhamo and attempt to reach the village of Singu below the dramatic 1st Defile. In the evening we will have more time to explore Bhamo’s bustling markets and Chinese temples.

We continue upstream to Shwe-gu, another centre of pot making, and Kyun-daw a midstream island of monasteries and countless small pagodas. Stop overnight at a tribal village.

We reach the enchanting colonial town of Katha, setting for George Orwell’s Myanma Days, and little changed since then. Of interested are the fire station’s collection of IFC 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. If permitted we visit an elephant logging camp in the hardwood forests of the hills that surround the town and if time allows a visit to the lake at Indaw-lay offers a glimpse of highland Myanmar with its rich bird life.

We explore by foot the ancient city of Tagaung viewing the fortifications, a famous nat or spirit shrine and the archaeological area. In the evening we climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang with its stunning views of the Irrawaddy.

Visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50 gallon water pots are hand made. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the week long firing in huge kilns. We enter the Third Defile and sail upstream all day stopping at Khan-nyat village with its many Buddhist monasteries and an orphanage we support. If free, the village orchestra and dancers will perform for us on the sun deck after dinner.

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 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. In the afternoon we travel to Mandalay for an orientation tour of the Mandalay city area visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda. The Mandalay classical ballet troupe will perform, on deck scenes from court dramas.

In the morning we travel to Ava and explore the ruins, visiting the superb Bagaya Kyaung, a 200 year old royal monastery made of teak with elaborate wood carvings. and sunset at Amarapura U-Bein Bridge.

Upstream to the Chindwin confluence and stop in the evening at Yandabo, a picturesque village with small family run potteries. Here we visit the Pandaw School built with donations from past Pandaw passengers. Sail in the afternoon and moor overnight at Thein Gone village to visit the new school and the monastery.

Tour a selection of the most significant of the 3,000 Buddhist monuments found at this World Heritage Site. We visit lacquerware manufacturers. Puppet show on deck at night.

Fly to the capital and check in at Dusit Inya Lake Hotel. Coach trip to visit the famous Scots Market and if of interest the gem emporia.Fly to the capital and check in at Dusit Inya Lake Hotel. Coach trip to visit the famous Scots Market and if of interest the gem emporia.

Optional early morning visit to the World War II cemetery at Htaukchan. International departures. End of services. Finish your Upper Irrawaddy Cruise Pandaw