The Burma Road: Overland from India to China Via the Old Burma Road

Duration: 19 days
Months offered: December-February
Costs: From $4,500

Years of negotiations with the Indian and Burmese authorities have finally yielded approval for the first crossings of the entire Burma Road . The road in its entirety, reaching from Ledo in Assam , India to Kunming in Yunnan , China , is slightly over 1700 km. Since 1945 no one has completed this traverse largely due to the fact that these border crossings from India to Myanmar and from Myanmar to China , were not open. The road was initiated by American General Joe Stilwell during WWII as a way to get troops and supplies from India to China and to fight the Japanese who occupied Burma . This expedition is truly an odyssey through the most unknown parts of inner Asia . We begin in Assam , India and slowly drive to the Indo-Myanmar border area where we visit some of the tribal populations in the region as well as some of the historical sites along the road. We then make the first crossing by foreigners into Myanmar via the Pangsau Pass since 1945. We spend the next several days slowly moving through northern Myanmar 's Kachin state. As in India , we will also be visiting some of the Kachin tribes in the region and historical sites from the war. The first major town we come to is Myitkyina, but many of the most interesting cultural experiences are in the small villages passed before reaching Myikyina. We continue south slowly making our way towards the Chinese border. Enroute we will stop and make some side trips to other sites of Burmese cultural interest that are not on the road such as Bagan and Mandalay . We then rejoin the road and continue into China near the border town of Bhamo . As we enter China we enter a totally different world. By the time we reach Kunming the contrasts between the primitive Indo-Myanmar border and the rapidly developing Chinese hinterland will be immensely apparent. This is rare opportunity to view a cross section of Asian cultures in different stages of development in way never before done. Contact us for information on this trip.