PANDAW RIVER CRUISES
8 Days | The Upper Irrawaddy
Southbound (Downstream)

MANDALAY ROUNDTRIP
7 Nights Aboard Ship

Day 1 | Mandalay. Embark at Shwe Kyet Yet or Sagaing (Laykyunt Manaung) by 11:30a.m. We start our Mandalay tour with a visit to the Mahamuni Pagoda with one of the country’s most venerated Buddha images. Continue to a gold leaf and tapestry work shop and walk along the marble & stone carver’s street. Visit a silk and cotton weaving work shop. Travel by bus to the famous “U Bein” bridge, it is about 1.2 km long and is said to be the world’s longest teak wood bridge. It has been built in 1784. With small boats we sail over the Taungthaman Lake and enjoy the sunset. PLEASE NOTE: The itinerary for this expedition is indicative only. As we travel to remote areas, changes to the itinerary will inevitably occur. A flexible approach is required if you book this cruise.

Day 2 | Kyauk. Myoung. Morning cruising. Afternoon visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50 gallon water pots are handmade. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the weeklong firing in huge kilns. We then third defile of the Irrawaddy.

Day 3 | Khanyat. Stop at Khan-nyat village with its many Buddhist monasteries and visit the former head teacher's house, which also includes his small museum collections. Later we go ashore and climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang with its stunning views of the Irrawaddy.

Day 4 | Katha. Arrive at the enchanting colonial town of Katha, setting for George Orwell’s Burmese Days. Little has changed since then. Of interested are the fire station’s collections of Irrawaddy Flotilla Company 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. We continue to an elephant logging camp at Katha in the hardwood forests of the hills that surround the town and further upstream.

Day 5 | Sail upstream to Kyunt Daw Island. Transfer by local boat to visit Kyun Daw village where we visit countless small Pagodas.

Day 6 | Second defile of the Irrawaddy. Cruise through the 2nd Defile, the most dramatic of the three gorges with cliffs towering over the narrow channel. Sail downstream.

Day 7 | Tagaung. We explore by foot the ancient city of Tagaung viewing the fortifications, a famous nat or spirit shrine and the archaeological area.

Day 8 | Mandalay. Morning visit to 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. Disembark late morning in Mandalay.

NOTE: Itinerary is subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the itinerary schedule you receive with your final documents.

SOUTHBOUND (DOWNSTREAM) ITINERARY 8 DAYS | MANDALAY ROUNDTRIP Click here to view 8-day NORTHBOUND itinerary. Click ship name to view deck plan.