5-Day Myanmar CBT Trek with Mandalay Temples and Inle Lake

• Meet your tour guide, who will pick you up at Mandalay International Airport and transfer you to your hotel for check-in.
• Visit Mahamuni Pagoda, home to a spectacular Buddha image covered with thick layers of gold leaves.
• Stop at local workshops to see Kalaga tapestries being made and gold leaf being beaten into paper-thin pieces. From here, continue to Kuthodaw Pagoda, where the Theravada Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble slabs, giving rise to its nickname, "the world's largest book".
• See the beautiful teak-carved Shwenandaw Monastery, the only royal palace building to survive the World War II bombing. Atop Mandalay Hill lie glittering glass-studded temple walls, which reflect the evening glow as you watch the sunset.
• Witness U Bein Bridge, which, at over a kilometre, is believed to be the longest teak bridge in the world.
• Return to your hotel in Mandalay.

Accommodation: Hotel, Mandalay

Meals included: Breakfast

• Meet the tour guide at the CBT meeting point and leave Samkar village. Walk up the western slope of the Lwekhaw mountain range.
• Arrive at the peak of the mountain, where you can look back to Samkar Lake and view patches of seasonal crops on the mountains. After a rest in the forest, continue walking down to Lwemoon village, located on the eastern foot of the Lwekhaw mountain range. Lwemoon village is home to both Shan and Pa-O ethnic groups. The villagers speak both languages and still wear their particular dresses.
• Continue east to Namtek village. The trek between Lwemoon and Namtek is flat and takes about one hour. On this land, depending on the season, either rice or garlic is grown in the paddies. Walk across these paddy fields and see many villagers working in the fields. The villages around the plain create marvellous scenery. Lunch will be served in one of the local houses in Namtek village. It is located between the eastern part of the plain and the western foot of the mountain range. The population of Namtek village is also Shan and Pa-O, and they still wear their own costumes all the time. Some of their homes are still built in their traditional style. Learn about their language, culture, building style and ways of life, and enjoy the view of the landscape in and around the village during lunch.
• Stop for the night at Htikaung village. The village is located in the valley of the Kaungnein mountain range, which keeps an important memory concerning national and ethnic history. The village is surrounded by hills and mountains. High trees grow around the village and look like the village's fence. There is a big water source in the centre of Htikaung village. It lies within a village forest, and there is a very old monastery near the water source. The villagers still maintain their own culture and rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

(Distance = 23 km; Walking hour = 7 hrs (approximate); Trek condition = 10% down, 50% up and 40% flat)

Accommodation at CBT village

Meals included: Breakfast + lunch + dinner

• Have breakfast in Htikaung, then start walking to the top of the Kaungnaine mountain range at 8:00 AM. This is the highest mountain range in the eastern part of Inle Lake. The trek winds up from the foot to the top of the mountain. Even though the mountain is high, it is easy to walk up. Along the way, there are orange fields, natural forests, stone banks or rock faces, natural orchids on trees and different species of birds to observe throughout the valley.
• Reach the top and take a rest while enjoying the view of Inle Valley to the west and Hopong-Seseng Valley to the east.
• Proceed to Pinton village through an area dense with pine and other valuable trees. The monastery in Pinton village is also worth visiting because all the pillars are made from teak and are so huge that they cannot be embraced with both arms. You can also see the young monks studying Buddhist literature. A picnic lunch will be taken on the way to a panoramic viewpoint.
• After lunch, pass through seasonal crops such as beans, corn, cheroot, garlic and paddy fields on the way to Maetine village. Here too, the villagers still wear traditional dresses and speak their own language. Stay overnight in the village.

(Distance = 23 km; Walking hour = 7 hrs (approximate); Trek condition = 30% down, 30% up and 40% flat)

Accommodation at CBT village

Meals included: Breakfast + lunch + dinner

• Have breakfast at Maetine village, then continue to Phatpon village (Shan & Pa-O). On the way, observe their ways of life while passing through seasonal plantations such as paddy fields, cheroot, corn and beans. Lunch will be served with Pa-O traditional taste at Lwekan village.
• After lunch, proceed to Kantawdam, which the villagers use for the irrigation of summer crops.
• Walk up to Thetlutt Mountain and down to Lwekhaw, a Pa-O village.
• Continue to Inpawkhon boat jetty. From here, take the boat to return to your hotel on Inle Lake or to the NyaungShwe jetty. On the way back, stop at some places if time permits.

(Distance = 16 km; Walking hour = 5 hrs (approximate); Trek condition = 10% down, 5% up and 85% flat)

Accommodation at CBT village

Meals included: Breakfast + lunch + dinner

• Transfer to Heho Airport and fly to Yangon International Airport.