Golden Rock, Bago & Taukkyan War Cemetery

Take a short hike to the summit of Mount Kyaiktiyo to see the revered Golden Rock Pagoda, perched precariously on the mountain top, before heading to the ancient Mon Capital of Bago to visit the beautiful Shwemawdaw Pagoda and paying your respects at the Allied War Cemetery in Taukkyan, on this 2 day Myanmar add-on which starts and ends in Yangon.

Day 1: Morning departure from your hotel in Yangon, for the 4 hour drive to Kinpun Base Camp in Kyaikhtiyo. Then it’s a short ride in an open top truck from the base camp up a steep track towards Yathe Hill. From here you’ll hike for an hour to the summit of Mount Kyaiktiyo to reach the iconic Golden Rock Pagoda, a gilded boulder perched precariously on the edge of the rock face. There are many legends about the pagoda and Nat (Spirit Gods) shrines along the pathway from the base to the peak. There is also a popular belief that a person gains in wealth every time he climbs the hill. Spend the night at mountain top hotel which is just a five-minute walk from the Golden Rock Pagoda. Overnight - Mount Kyaiktiyo.

Day 2: After breakfast walk back down to Yathe Hill and then take the open top truck back to Kinpun Base Camp. From here travel back to Yangon, stopping en route to take in the highlights of Bago, the ancient Mon Capital. Visit the Mon-style Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Bago’s most outstanding religious monument, see the 55m long reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha and four massive seated Buddhas at Kyaikpun Pagoda. From Bago, we continue to the Allied War Cemetery in Taukkyan. This beautifully maintained cemetery contains the graves of more than 5800 soldiers (from AU, CA, Indian, Africa, UK and others) who died in the Second World War, and the graves of 52 soldiers who died in Myanmar during the First World War. It also has a memorial pillar with the names of over 27,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died in Burma during the Second World War. Travelling back to Yangon, you’ll be dropped off at your hotel. (B)