Northern Myanmar

The north of the country has two of Myanmar's major highlights – Bagan and Mandalay. Nothing can prepare you for Bagan. The sight of thousands of temples and stupas dotting the landscape is simply staggering. Cruising the Ayeyarwaddy is the best way to reach Mandalay from Bagan, although it is a short hop by plane if you prefer to fly. A leisurely day cruising allows you to view life on the river, as you pass tiny villages.

Further north, the hot, dusty lowlands of Bagan give way to a landscape of hills and high valleys, where the climate is much more temperate. The Shan Highlands are simply beautiful; their valleys cultivated with tea, wheat and rice, and dotted with villages and Buddhist temples, the high hills covered in pine forest (excellent trekking territory!)

In the very far north, Kachin State is an area most unlike the rest of Myanmar, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with misty green valleys that are home to small villages inhabited by ethnic tribes—bucolic scenes abound.

In and around Northern Myanmar
The British left their mark on Northern Myanmar with their hill stations, where they decamped to when the weather was particularly hot on the plains. The most famous of these, Kalaw, is situated in the heart of the pine-studded Shan Hills, and is a peaceful town, harking back to the colonial era with large houses and an Anglican church. But the town's defining features are its lively market and hilltop monastery. Walking around town you may come across members of the Palaung hill tribe wearing traditional dress - consider buying some of their crafts and tea from the market. There are a number of trekking routes in the hills surrounding Kalaw, with the option for extended treks involving home stays.

The trekking is arguably even better in the remote northern Kachin State, which sees very few visitors. Using Putao as a base, you can trek often-difficult trails into the surrounding countryside, passing stilted houses and crossing rivers by rickety suspension bridges. En route you will be overtaken by locals carrying impossibly heavy loads and curious children who will want to stop to observe you - very few travellers make it to this remote region, after all. Whether trekking or cycling, you will find yourself stopping time and again to admire waterfalls, colourful birds, flowers and butterflies, and to laugh at the water buffalo wallowing in mud pools. Most of all you will be struck by the silence of the highlands, broken only occasionally by buzzing insects.