6 Days in Mandalay: First-Timer Plan
Travel advisory: Both the US and UK governments warn against visiting. The US advises against all travel to Myanmar; the UK advises against all but essential travel to Mandalay and against all travel to Sagaing and the area north of the city. Fighting, drone attacks, curfews and internet shutdowns continue, and the March 2025 earthquake damaged many sites. Check the US State Department and UK FCDO before making any plans.
Before you plan a single day. Myanmar has been under military rule since the 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war, and most governments currently advise against travel; check your own government’s current guidance before booking anything. A magnitude-7.7 earthquake also hit the Sagaing-Mandalay area on 28 March 2025, and several days in this plan involve sights with confirmed or reported quake damage, so treat the status notes below as load-bearing, not routine. The Sagaing Region across the river remains an active conflict zone. Some tourist spending here still reaches the military government, so if and when it’s safe to visit, favor small, independent, locally run operators. Official advice currently recommends against travel. This plan describes these places as they were and could be again.
Six days adds a second, slower city day on top of the five-day plan’s ancient capitals, Mingun, and Pyin Oo Lwin. For five days, see the 5-day itinerary ; for the full week, see the 7-day itinerary .
Day 1: Mahamuni, Kuthodaw, and sunset on Mandalay Hill
Settle into a central guesthouse and spend the afternoon at Mahamuni Pagoda, which took confirmed significant structural damage in the 2025 earthquake, so check its current status, then Shwenandaw Monastery and Kuthodaw Pagoda’s 729 marble slabs, which suffered serious structural damage. The current condition and access of all of these are unconfirmed. Mandalay Hill at sunset was the traditional close to the day.
Day 2: Crafts, Zegyo Market, and the Palace moat
Morning in the gold-leaf and carving workshops, then Zegyo Market. Afternoon, walk the Palace moat, the reconstructed palace inside its active military zone took further gate and wall damage in 2025. Evening in a tea shop.
Day 3: The ancient capitals, Amarapura to Sagaing
A full day across the river. U Bein Bridge’s quake status is unverified; Inwa lost an estimated 75% of its structures, Maha Aungmye Bonzan reported nearly destroyed; Sagaing, near the epicenter, was very heavily damaged. Verify current access at each. Sagaing lies in Sagaing Region, where the UK advises against all travel.
Day 4: Mingun by boat
A slow boat to Mingun Pahtodawgyi and the Mingun Bell; nearby Hsinbyume Pagoda is reported largely destroyed. Mingun lies in Sagaing Region, where the UK advises against all travel. Verify ferry schedules; free afternoon back in the city.
Day 5: Pyin Oo Lwin, the cooler hill station
A day trip to the botanical gardens and Anisakan Falls, historically a greener break from Mandalay’s dry plain. Pyin Oo Lwin lies in the area where the UK advises against all travel, and the condition and access of both sights are unconfirmed.
Day 6: A second, slower city day
Use this day for what got skipped: Sandamuni and Kyauktawgyi Pagodas near Mahamuni (condition and access unconfirmed), an Irrawaddy sunset boat, the closest thing to a real nature outing near a city that otherwise sits on flat plain, and, if it’s running, the 87th Street jade market, browsing and small handicraft buys are fine, but treat any serious jade purchase as a genuine ethical yellow flag given the trade’s ties to military-linked mining and its landslide record. Close with a second, unhurried evening in a tea shop and any last shopping at Zegyo Market.
Rough daily costs
| Day | Covers | Rough cost (USD, cash) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahamuni, Shwenandaw, Kuthodaw, Mandalay Hill | $15-25 |
| 2 | Craft workshops, Zegyo Market, tea shop | $10-20 |
| 3 | Ancient capitals day trip | $30-50 |
| 4 | Mingun boat trip plus a lower-key afternoon | $20-35 |
| 5 | Pyin Oo Lwin day trip | $25-40 |
| 6 | Sandamuni, sunset boat, jade market browsing | $15-30 |
For the advisory itself, see the US State Department and UK FCDO guidance on Myanmar.
One concrete tip: keep day six deliberately unscheduled until you’re actually in Mandalay, it’s the day to reshuffle around whatever got rained out, closed, or postponed earlier in the week.