Cycling the Burma Road

Most people have heard of Route 66 in the US and the Great Ocean Road in Australia, but lesser known is the Burma Road, unless you are a war history buff. Originally a supply line for the Western Allies during WWII, the Burma Road has since lost its strategic importance, which makes it a perfect road for cycling.

Our Burma Road tour starts at Kunming, China, where we take a short flight to Baoshan, to begin our adventure. Cycling on this historical route we'll realize the difficulty in building the road as we cycle up and down mountains and cross the Salween River. The road leads us deep into the volcanic region of Tengchong where hot springs abound, and we'll absorb ancient Chinese traditional architecture in the village of Heshun. Along the way we'll pass small villages where people still live their rural life in harmony with nature, many wearing their traditional ethnic clothing. We leave China from the lively border-town Ruili and start our first leg of Burma in Muse. Here the road continues over rolling hills, making the riding challenging and interesting. A downhill ride takes us to Lashio, the terminus of the Burma Road. We'll take breaks to visit temples, ancient chedis, waterfalls and a former Shan palace, as we approcah the former colonial British hill station town of Maymyo, now called Pyin Oo Lwin. Here we'll visit the manicured botanical gardens before riding down to Mandalay, where we end our journey of the Burma Road.