Start your Myanmar Golden Rock tour by departing Yangon and traveling to Kyaiktiyo, home of the famed Golden Rock.

After a roughly 5-hour drive, you’ll arrive at Kyaiktiyo Base Camp in the late morning. Transfer to local open-air bus for the drive up to the trailhead that leads to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, which houses the Golden Rock. At the trailhead, you’ll leave your shoes behind and walk barefoot to the Golden Rock, as per local custom.

Golden Rock, a huge boulder balanced on the edge of a cliff and covered in gold leaf, is one of Myanmar’s most famous pilgrimage sites. It is believed that the boulder rests on a strand of Buddha’s hair. Buddhists from across the country travel here to pay their respects and make merit.

Today, after breakfast, you’ll travel back to Yangon via Kyaiktiyo Base Camp. Along the way, stop at Bago (also known as Pegu), the ancient capital of the Mon Kingdom, who saw its heyday in the 15th century.

Learn about the history and myths of the city by exploring the sites with your local guide. You’ll visit the 55-meter-long reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, the four seated Buddhas at Kyaikpun and the old palace of Kambozathadi. You’ll also stop at the most outstanding monument in Bago, the Mon-style Shwemawdaw Pagoda. Standing 114 meters tall, the pagoda is taller than Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda and can be seen from the city’s outskirts.

In Bago you’ll also visit the local market and the Mon neighborhood where locals formerly wove textiles.

We’ll also make a stop at Htaukkyan Township to visit the Allied War Cemetery. The cemetery is the resting place for over 27,000 Allied soldiers who died during World War II in Myanmar. You’ll return to Yangon in the afternoon.