Mandalay Tours & Trips

Compared to Myanmar’s other ancient capitals, Mandalay, the last royal capital of Burma, is relatively new, founded in 1857. Yet forever immortalized in Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem, ‘Mandalay,’ this former colonial city conjures-up one of the most evocative images of any Myanmar destination. The nation’s second largest city is renowned as the birthplace of Burmese gold-leaf, which adorns so many of its temples, and boasts a myriad of teahouses and colorful markets, a bustling waterfront, and 360-degree city vistas atop stupa-studded Mandalay Hill.

Mandalay tours take in its rich arts and cultural heritage, extending to sacred Burmese pilgrimage sites such as the carved teak Shwenandaw Monastery, Kuthodaw Pagoda’s Tripitaka tablets, which form the ‘biggest book in the world’, and the 16-foot tall, gilded Buddha housed at Mahamuni Temple. Mandalay’s best-known attraction is undoubtedly U Bein Bridge, the world’s longest teak wood bridge, constructed with salvaged teak from a nearby palace, dismantled around two-centuries ago. Visits are best made at sunset, capturing those iconic bridge silhouettes shimmering on a picturesque lake.