A handpicked selection of experiences endorsed by our experts. If you can’t see what you’re looking for, let us know, as our extensive network of local contacts can open many doors.
A good half-day hike – or a short drive – from Pyin Oo Lwin, visitors will find the Anisakan Falls, a beautiful natural wonder made even more magnificent by the small, gold Buddhist Temple located at the base. A 45-minute walk from nearby Anisakan village, the falls also feature a hiking trail going up alongside them, giving visitors an incredible view from the top and also of the surrounding forested areas.
With a strong Yunnanese Chinese population due to an influx of immigration, Pyin Oo Lwin has a large Buddhist Temple where many local people worship. This colorful structure, built by the Yunnanese people, provides a nice location for a walk just south of the town and shows another outside influence in the small yet diverse town.
The botanical gardens of Maymyo are well worth a tour: they feature many different varieties of English plants and include a rose garden, an orchid garden, and a stupa located on a tiny island in the middle of a pond. Located just outside of the town, the gardens are a nice little walk or carriage ride away.
One of the main attractions in the center of the town is Purcell Tower, which houses one of the few clocks made by Gillette and Johnson Co. of England in 1934, in celebration of King George V’s Silver Jubilee (one of the other clocks is in Cape Town, South Africa, given at the same time). The chimes of the clock align with those of Big Ben in London, England, yet another connection with this town’s British history.
As Pyin Oo Lwin is a scenic mountain town, visitors should be sure to spend some time walking its streets, soaking up all the sites as well as the atmosphere. Worth a visit is the Pyin Oo Lwin Market, located in the center of town: many local products, including wine, strawberry jam, and coffee are sold at the market, as well as woolen clothing and other local goods and crafts.
Because Pyin Oo Lwin was the military center of the British Indian Army, it has a strong Indian population and houses a large Shiva Temple. Dedicated to the Hindu God of Shiva, this temple is located in the center of the town and is a main place of worship for many of local people.
Fans of architecture should check out the Candacraig, a colonial mansion built in 1904 as a guesthouse for staff of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation. The well-maintained hotel, now owned and operated by the government, was featured in the legendary travel writer Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, and provides an excellent glimpse into traditional colonial life. Other similar colonial houses made into government-run hotels are The Croxton and Craddock Court.
Explore in-depth information, experiences and highlights by navigating to specific regions using the links below on the right.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, in the continent that our north American founders Catherine and Jay have adored and explored for decades, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
Multi-Country Specialists
Remote Lands
Choose somewhere you’d like to visit, something you’re interested in, and when you’re planning to travel and we’ll suggest sample itineraries to inspire your bespoke journey.
An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands – a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.
Thomas Bird travels to Pyin Oo Lwin for horse-drawn carriages, colonial architecture, and a little England outside of Mandalay.
East to the highlands, north to the Rubies, west to the Irrawaddy, and cruise down south for a circumlocutory Road to Mandalay.
When Paul Theroux set out from his local stop on the London underground to the farthest reaches of Asia by rail, he would go on to write one of the greatest travelogues of the modern age. But Asia has changed.
Here is a small selection of the kind words our guests have said about us, as well as features by journalists and travel writers.
From the moment I happened upon the REMOTE LANDS website over a year ago, browsed the options, I knew that this would be well worth it. The entire staff is nothing less than professional with service that made us feel like royals.
This was truly the trip of a lifetime. Magical destinations, the most luxurious hotels in the world, and the most wonderful travel companions we could’ve wished for. We were treated like family everywhere we went and we have 14 new best friends.
We have used some of the top rated travel specialists all over the world and, without question, Catherine Heald and Remote Lands are at the very top of the list!