trekking in the snow capped mountains of northern Myanmar ( Burma )

ITINERARY (8)

Trekking in the Snow Capped Mountains in the extreme North of Myanmar

Extreme North of Myanmar

DAY	BRIEF DETAILS	OVERNIGHT
Day 1	Arrival Yangon	Hotel in Yangon
Day 2	Fly to Putao	Hotel in Putao
Day 3	Drive Putao to Sangaung village	Sangaung
Day 4	Trek to Camp 1	Camp 1
Day 5	Trek Camp 1 to Zeyardum village	Zeyardum
Day 6	Trek Zeyardum to Camp 2	Camp 2
Day 7	Trek Camp 2 to Camp 3	Camp 3
Day 8	Camp 3	Camp 3
Day 9	Trek Camp 3 to Camp 2	Camp 2
Day 10	Trek Camp 2 to Zeyardum	Zeyardum
Day 11	Trek Zeyardum to Camp 1	Camp 1
Day 12	Trek Camp 1 to Sangaung	Sangaung
Day 13	Drive from Sangaung to Putao and then fly to Yangon	Hotel in Yangon
Day 14	Depart.

Day.1	Arrive in Yangon on morning flight, check into hotel and have a tour briefing. Afternoon go sightseeing downtown Yangon including a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Day.2	Fly to Putao the northern most district town of Myanmar formerly known as Fort Hertz. There are regular flights every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the flying time is about 3 1/2 hrs. Arrive Putao in the late afternoon and check into a small but comfortable hotel. The local tribes predominant here are the Rawan and Lesu with some Myanmar and Tibets. Look around the town in the evening.
Day.3	After breakfast drive to Sagaung village which is about 30 kilometers North of Putao. It is a Rawan village and the drive takes about 90 minutes. The afternoon and evening will be spent touring the village and nearby areas, while our crews organise the porters and supplies for the journey to the snow line. Sangaung is the last village to where a car can drive and is the beginning of a long walk to the thrills of extreme North Myanmar. We will spend the night in a wooden house and will use our sleeping bags. From this point, daily meals, drinks and laundry will be provided by our crews and porters.
Day.4	We start trekking early in the morning after breakfast. Our supplies and gears are carried by porters, some from Putao and some from Sangaung and nearby villages. Most of them will be Rawan and Lesu tribes. The first part of the trek is relatively flat walking through some secondary forest alongside a small river, but the second part is through pristine forest with some steep climbing and gulley crossings - this is hard work. In the evening arrive at camp 1 which is on a mountain range at an elevation of about 1400 meters. Overnight is spent in camp with bamboo roofing and flooring.

Day.5	Today's trekking is through primary forest with bamboo patches and some small areas of cultivation. We will be descending most of the time till we reach a village called Warsardum situated in a valley about 800 meters in elevation where we rest for lunch. We then continue to walk on relatively flat terrain (sometimes with short steep climbs) until we reach a village called Zeyardum. There will be some river crossings today, most of them waist deep but temporary bamboo bridges will be built across by our advance team. Zeyardum is the last village on the tract situated on the bank of Zeyar River, and about 1000 meters in elevation. Beyond this village we will be walking through nothing but primeval forest. The night is spent in a bamboo house in the village.
Day.6	The track from Zeyardum to camp 2 is also quite easy walking on flat terrain although with some short steep ups and downs. The first part of the tract is through a thick evergreen forest ascending gradually until we reach the Namlam river. We then walk along the river to camp 2 which is situated on the bank of Namlam river about 1150 meters in elevation. Again today we will walk across rivers with temporary bridges. Overnight is in a bamboo camp similar to camp 1.
Day.7	Today's trekking is the hardest portion. After walking across the flood plain of Namlam river we will start walking up a ridge. There will be steep climbing, on the first part but after reaching the top of the ridge the slopes will become gentle although with occasional short steep climbing. Camp 3 is situated at about 2500 meters, which is the elevation the snow starts to fall. This camp is called ‘‘ Khan-tauk-myit ’’ camp, named after a traditional herb which grows there and is useful in curing many kinds of illnesses. The camp is situated on a ridge and we spend the night in tents.
Day.8	Today is a free and relaxed day with many options. You can spend the day exploring around the camp or go 2 or 3 kilometers above the camp to higher elevations. It is almost impossible to go higher than that because the snow will be about knee deep and can be life threatening when walking on knife edge ridges with steep slopes.
Day.9 to 12	We return the same way and arrive to Sangaung in the evening of to Day 12.
Day.13	Morning drive back to Putao and catch the evening flight to Yangon.
Day.14	Either Free and Easy in Yangon or take a tour of the city. International Departures.