KHIRI Travel has put together a 4D3N itinerary to the Mogok gem area in northern Myanmar that sidesteps the well-trodden visit to a gem mine.
The new tour programme overturns perceptions that the only attraction Mogok has to offer is its gem mines. Instead, guests attend a 90-minute workshop on gems, where they can learn the differences between gemstones and the importance of colour, carat, clarity and cut.
Guests can also go trekking in tribal areas, join a street food session in Mogok, visit a botanical garden in Pyin Oo Lwin (formerly Maymyo) and take a river cruise from a pottery village to Mandalay, via the heritage site of Mingun.
Instead of taking the cruise, guests have the option to visit Shwebo and the newly declared UNESCO World Heritage site at Hanlin with a guide.
The mountainous Mogok area, which is primarily visited by foreigners in the gemstone business, has only recently been opened for tourism.
“Our aim is to let guests experience the essence of a fascinating cultural area defined by Lisu, Palaung, Gurkha and Shan tribes, tea and coffee plantations, and the gemstone-rich mountains,” says Edwin Briels, general manager of Khiri Travel Myanmar. “The legacy of British colonial influence also makes the Mogok area a unique experience.”
Travel trade prices for the trip in a private vehicle range from US$485 per pax in a six-person party and up to US$710 for a two-person party, based on twin sharing. The single room supplement is US$110 per pax.
