Home | Contact Us | Tour Program | Reservation

3N/4DAY

TACHILEIK- KALAW - PINDAYA - INLE - TACHILEIK

Day 1

This exciting trip takes in many of Shan State’s best-known attractions. Initially we will fly you from Tachileik, on the Thai border, to Heho Airport, which is regarded as being the main gateway to Shan State. We will pick you up at the airport and drive you direct to Kalaw, where we will stop in at the Kalaw Railway Station and the attached recreation centre.

Kalaw was a British hillstation and many colonial buildings are still to be found around the town. Easily reached sites include the Shwe U Min Cave and Bamboo Buddha image. The culinary options in Kalaw are wider than usual, with one Nepalese restaurant particularly worth visiting.

Day 2

On the second morning we will move along to Pindaya, which is about 46 kilometres from Kalaw and is home to numerous limestone caves. The scenery along the road between the two towns is beautiful and the different fields sometimes resemble huge patchwork quilts.

Pindaya’s claim to fame is a vast limestone cave that is home to more than 8000 – and growing – Buddha images. The cave is blissfully cool, well-lit and expansive – even the most claustrophobic person should have no fears about entering the cave.

Outside the cave is a site that is immensely popular with young photographers: There is a statue of a young hero taking aim with his bow at a gigantic spider. Local folklore says the spider kidnapped a young princess and took her into the cave. A young hero, hearing of the abduction, came to rescue the princess and killed the spider.

At the base of the hill that houses the caves you can people making paper umbrellas and artwork using traditional techniques. That night you will sleep in Pindaya.

Day 3

On the tour’s third day we will drive you from Pindaya to Inle Lake, checking out the 100-year-old Shwe Yan Pye wooden monastery along the way. After lunch at Inle Lake, we will take you for a sightseeing excursion around the lake, which is famous for its boatmen who row with their legs. It’s a beautiful environment where people grow tomatoes on floating reed beds, fish using tall cone-shaped traps and travel everywhere by boat.

Dotted about the lake are a number of Buddhist sites such as the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda and a monastery that has a number of cats that have been trained to jump through hoops.

The lake is also a hive of industry, including cheroot makers, silk weavers and silversmiths. Dinner, of course, is on the lake and you will sleep very soundly indeed in your hotel that night.

Day 4

After leaving the hotel, we will take you to Naung Shwe, a big village alongside the lake, by boat. From there we will travel to Taunggyi by car, a trip that takes about one hour. Taunggyi is the capital city of Shan State and includes a colourful market that displays the wares of the various Shan peoples, and the Sulamuni Pagoda. Taunggyi, like Kalaw, was a British town and you can still see a number of the beautiful buildings put up at that time. That afternoon we will drive you back to Tachileik, where you will board your flight back to Thailand.