Mandalay city tour - Full day

Compared with the ancient treasures surrounding the city, Mandalay is a veritable whippersnapper at just 150 years old. Founded as capital of the Burmese empire in 1861, Mandalay saw the swansong of the last kings of Burma. The British stormed in and took over in 1885 in a one-sided conflict.

Poetic though the name may be, Mandalay is a thoroughly modern city, the second largest in the country. The dusty streets sprawl east of the Ayeyarwady and south of Mandalay Hill, a stupa-studded hill looming over the flat cityscape. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the golden Buddha of Mahamuni Paya, but the real attractions lie beyond town in the nearby ancient cities.

The town continues to boom thanks to Chinese investment and, so the story goes, from the red, green and white trades – rubies, jade and heroin. Beneath this bustling bravado, there is a more meditative side to life here, as it’s home to three in five of Myanmar’s Buddhist monks.
 

Operation : Daily departure
Duration : Full day
Tour route : Mandalay
Brief description : Compared with the ancient treasures surrounding the city, Mandalay is a veritable whippersnapper at just 150 years old. Founded as capital of the Burmese empire in 1861, Mandalay saw the swansong of the last kings of Burma. The British stormed in and took over in 1885 in a one-sided conflict. Poetic though the name may be, Mandalay is a thoroughly modern city, the second largest in the country. The dusty streets sprawl east of the Ayeyarwady and south of Mandalay Hill, a stupa-studded hill looming over the flat cityscape. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the golden Buddha of Mahamuni Paya, but the real attractions lie beyond town in the nearby ancient cities. The town continues to boom thanks to Chinese investment and, so the story goes, from the red, green and white trades – rubies, jade and heroin. Beneath this bustling bravado, there is a more meditative side to life here, as it’s home to three in five of Myanmar’s Buddhist monks....

Mandalay Tour full day - Discover the countryside
• Drive to Paleik Ywa Ma on the outskirts of Mandalay to visit the Paleik Archaeological Zone with some stupas said to be even older than those in Bagan.
• Stroll through the village, see living quarters and get acquainted with the local life-style.
• Nearby is Paleik Temple where every day at 11 o’clock the temple’s venerated snakes are being fed.
• Drive to the foot of Yetagon Taung Hill.
• En route visit Ye Kyi Village, where people are pre-occupied with cultivating agricultural produce and dealing with bamboo raw materials.
• Lunch is served at a local restaurant (or) a packed lunch is arranged.
• The trip gives further insight into the rural life-style outside of Mandalay.
• For the energetic, there is time to follow a stair path lined up with columns to the top of the hill (20 minutes) with an awarding panoramic view.
• Return to the city of Mandalay.