For many Burma is inextricably linked to the mighty Irrawaddy River. This incredible waterway snakes from the north of the country south past Mandalay, Bagan and Yangon and exits via an almost innumerable number of twisting channels into the Bay of Bengal. As it has for centuries, the Irrawaddy remains Burma’s main highway carrying cargo, people, tourists and pilgrims to and from the country’s most important cities. However, amongst all this activity are swathes of rural life, remote villages, towns and temple complexes that few travellers ever get to see unless travelling by river. The Irrawaddy also offers the greatest number and variety of river cruises in Burma ranging from short overnight or two-night journeys between Bagan and Mandalay to longer, more intrepid, journeys on the Upper Irrawaddy as far north as Katha or on the weaving waterways of the Irrawaddy Delta.