Yangon – Hpa-an – Mawlamyine – Ye – Dawei – Myeik – Kawthaung (8 days/ 7 nights)
Day 1 Yangon – Hpa An
In the morning depart from YANGON and drive to Hpa-an (4 ½ hours), Hpa-an is the capital of the Kayin State, Hpa-an is surrounded by limestone cliffs, rivers and mountain ranges.
On the way we stop in Thaton, Thaton is one of the former capitals of the Mon Kingdom. After visiting Thaton we will continue onwards to Hpa-an stopping on the way at the Bayinnyi Cave with it’s stunning wall carvings and numerous complex Buddha images that can be seen everywhere inside the cave. After visiting this cave we will visit the beautiful Kaw-Goon cave, which is a natural lime stone cave that measures 200 feet height and 300 feet length, which is also known as ‘The Cave of the Ten Thousand Buddhas’. When you are inside this cave, you can walk through the cave and witness more than thousands of motives of Lord Buddha that is carved and painted on the cave walls.
In the evening enjoy sunset at Shwe Yin Myaw Pagoda, at the river bank of Than Lwin River.
Day 2 Hpa An – Mawlamyine
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
In the morning stroll through the Central Market to get the feel of Hpa-an’s local and bustling daily life. One of the highlights to visit in Hpa-an is the Kyauk Kalatt, standalone rock islet in the middle of a small lake; also we will visit the Lumbini Garden, which is a home to one thousand Buddha images, with the majestic Mount Zwekabin as its backdrop.
And then we will drive to the jetty and board a river boat that will sail us down Than Lwin river from Hpa-an and down to Mawlamyine. This amazing river trip with beautiful scenery takes approx. 4 hours, sailing down river to Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon state. In the evening arrive in Mawlamyine and transfer to your hotel.
Day 3 Mawlamyine
Breakfast will be served at your hotel.
Walk through old colonial era buildings and view this thriving previous colonial port city with it’s old amazing colonial history and past. Visit the bustling and busy Zyegyi Market. And then we will continue to the Mahamuni Pagoda which is a major temple site in Myanmar; afterwards we will visit the Seindon Mibaya Monastery, and then we will continue to a very impressive old Baptist Church. The late afternoon, you can enjoy the sunset from Kyaiktalan Pagoda, known as the Kipling Pagoda.
Day 4 Mawlamyine – Ye – Overland trip to Dawei
Start the adventure overland safari and we will drive to Dawei (8 hours, 197 miles).
Drive pass many rubber plantations to Thanbyuzaya and visit the Death Railway Museum, that has a small locomotive of the bygone days. To commemorate the starting point of the tragic death railway, there is also a Allied War Cemetery and resting place for over 3,500 Allied POWs (Prisoners of War). And when we continue our journey it takes us on a narrow, winding and bumpy road through the Southern plateau.
Pass through dotted white and golden pagodas over the hills. After lunch at Ye, our journey continues through unpaved roads and brings us over a stunning mountain range which divides the Mon State and the Tanintharyi Division. In the late evening, we will arrive in Dawei.
Day 5 Dawei
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Dawei, the capital of Thanitaryi division in the Southern Myanmar, was also known as Tavoy during the colonial times. Dawei was one of the first cities were the British traders first settled in Myanmar after the first of the three Anglo-Burmese wars, and as a result of these British settlements, Dawei has a long history, interesting past and beautiful architecture covering many of the buildings from the colonial era. Together with your guide we will explore downtown Dawei with it’s colonial buildings from the old days. Then we will stroll through the main busy market of Dawei, where they sell many different kind of local products. Visit to Shwe Taung Sar Pagoda and Paya Gyi museum where you can see collections of bronze coins, vases, portraits and a large wooden ancient Buddha image that are displayed.
In the evening drive to Shwe Tharlyaung reclining Buddha which 74 meter long and 21 meter high and this statue was the biggest in Myanmar until the recently built Win Sein Taw Ya Buddha image in Mawlamyine. And then take short walk up (20 or 30 min) to the view point of Sapar Taung to enjoy the impressive and panoramic views of the surrounding city and you will also be able to view a breathtaking sunset.
Day 6 Dawei – Palaw – overland trip to Myeik
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
After breakfast and in the morning we will proceed for an adventurous overland drive about 155 miles (8 hours) to MYEIK, this journey takes you on a narrow and winding and bumpy road through the Southern plateau for us to be able to reach Palaw and Myeik. Once we reach Palaw, we are halfway to Myeik and we will make a rest stop.
Palaw is the small town of ethnic people of Dawei and they are famous for local fisheries products and other local handicrafts that originates in this particular area. After our rest stop in Palaw, we will continue the driving to MYEIK, crossing over the rolling hills of the Southern part of Myanmar, that includes breathtaking sights of the spectacular landscape and the pure nature that the area can offer. You will have the possibility of short stops on the way to explorer the serene scenery of paddy fields, hidden small towns, rural villages and daily local lifestyle along the way. Arrival in Myeik will be in the evening and we will proceed directly to your hotel for check in and refreshments.
Day 7 Sightseeing Myeik
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Myeik is a busy port and an important center for fishing industries as well as dried-fish factories, bird’s nest’s collecting and the rubber plantations. Myeik town has elegant wooden architecture and very busy streets life. Myeik is also famous for Myanmar pearls harvested by the Salon or Moken people (sea gypsies).
Today’s exploration will be to visit the fish market which host one of largest fish markets in Myanmar. After visiting the fish market, we will drive to the riverside wharf where many wooden fishing boats are parked on the muddy riverbanks. From the jetty take a small wooden boat to Pahtaw Island (10mins trip), visit the reclining Buddha which is located on the island. It is possible to walk up the stairs to the top of the hill to see the panoramic views of both Myeik city and the outer islands. Then we will proceed to the dockyard where you will see local people, building and maintaining wooden fishing boats. We will head back to Myeik, and visit the Thain Taw Gyi Road which is full of old monasteries with separate compounds and these monasteries are as beautiful as the monasteries in Sagaing. Afterwards we will proceed to a main pagoda, to enjoy the panoramic views and the breathtaking sunset over the islands in the Andaman Sea.
Day 8 Myeik – Departure
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Free time for your leisure until your transfer to the airport for onward departure by flight (either to Yangon or Kawthaung)
** END OF SERVICES**
Option 1: Flight back to Yangon
Option 2: Flight to Kawthaung and continue with an Island Safari Cruise on board M/V Sea Gipsy or border cross from Kawthaung to Ranong / Thailand
PLEASE NOTES: The itinerary is subject to changes depending on road conditions, domestic flight timing, weather conditions and availability of rooms. A supplement may occur and apply in case for changes.
The regions of Southern Myanmar are still undeveloped and limited infrastructure for tourism in various ways which may affects service’s level. This tour will be new venture destinations and adventure tour. We will endeavor to obtain the best available accommodations, transport and facilities for the clients. We do request their understanding for any practical aspects which won’t reach up to expectation and for delays or changes that may occur in the itinerary.
We reserve the right to change and reroute the itinerary without prior notice, due to unforeseen circumstances that may occur and arise.
