From Kalaw (or from Heho airport if you arrive around 10:00) we bring you by car to Pinlaung (about 3 hours’ drive) where you are being welcomed by a local family, for a traditional home- cooked Shan lunch. Go for short walk around town and pass by the ruins of the former old wooden palace from the last Sawbwa (=prince) of the Pinlaung principality. Drive to the newly-discovered maze cave with buddha statues about 3 km away from Pinlaung. Use the flashlight provided and stick with your guide in case you get lost! After that, continue to Loikaw where you say goodbye to our Shan guide and you will be greeted by Kayah guide.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Loikaw Lodge Hotel and Cafe

The Dutch organization CBI has set-up a program in Kayah state to ensure that communities benefit from tourism and organize excursions in a sustainable way. 2 of their projects will be visited during the stay in Loikaw. We start the morning with a visit to the always bustling morning market in Loikaw and the former palace of the Kayah prince. Trail of the ancestors trek and long neck villages; Continue by car to Pemsong village where we start a trekking: Trail of the Ancestors. During about 2 hours a local community guide will walk along with you and the translator guide and tell the story of their ancestors including all beliefs in spirits, the importance of the totem pole and herbal medicines. The first 30 min is uphill followed by mainly flat parts, the views are always stunning and a delicious picnic lunch is served half way. From here we continue to Kasae Kum village where we will see some local handicrafts like bracelet making, bamboo cups, weaving and sculptures. An excellent opportunity to learn about the legends of the longneck women. Your last stop is a of the Kayah villages where you will meet more longneck women. We drive towards Loikaw.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Loikaw Lodge Hotel and Cafe

Kayah village walk & BBQ lunch at local family house; In the morning we visit by car the Hta Nee La Leh and meet some of the community members who explain (translation by your guide) their shrines where animist traditions are practiced. An easy stroll through the community. Continue by oxcart for a 30 min scenic ride before heading by car to a local family house where a Kayah Barbecue lunch has been set-up for you. Shortly after lunch we drive to Pekon where you say farewell to Kayah State and continue by private boat over the wide Pekon Lake in about 2 hours to Phayataung village.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Loikaw Lodge Hotel and Cafe

We continue by private boat and drive northwards to Nyaung Shwe (or your hotel on the lake). On the way we visit Hmawbi temple ruins and other sights the lake is famous for. A day on the lake! Inle Lake in southern Shan State is a vast natural lake surrounded by traditional Shan villages. On the lake itself the Intha people have been living for many centuries in village built entirely on stilts on the lake. Today we will take you by private motorboat around the lake to discover the natural beauty of the lake, visit the floating gardens, see some of the famous leg rowers and have some tea at a local family’s house. We will certainly also visit a local cheroot factory (where the Burmese cigars are made), floating tomato gardens, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, an Intha house where a traditional Intha lunch is served and if wanted we visit a weaving factory. We suggest you to spend 2 or 3 nights in Nyaung Shwe or Inle Lake area for further trekking, biking, kayaking or other visits on the lake by boat.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch