Popular Destination in Myanmar

Tranquil Sea In The Mountains

Inle Lake lies in the cool, green hills of Shan State, an area of outstanding natural beauty and cultural diversity. For centuries the Intha have developed their own unique lifestyle based around this beautiful body of water. They live in stilted houses built on the lake and even grow their vegetables on floating gardens that are secured to the lake bottom with bamboo stakes. Skilled boatmen and fishermen, the Intha are famous for their unique style of rowing in which they stand on one leg while using the other leg to push the oar through the water.

A travelling market makes the round of several villages on the lake, completing a circuit every five days and offering visitors the best chance to see the people of the region gathered together, including the Shan, Pa-O, Danu, Taung-yo and Kayah. The Intha are also skilled in weaving colourful silk or cotton fabrics. They even produce a linenlike fabric woven out of filaments pulled from lotus stems that grow from the lake, the only material of its kind in the world. Other crafts that can be seen in villages around the lake include pottery making, jewellery making andblacksmithing.

Silk Weaving

Above all, Inle Lake is a place of peace and tranquillity. Lakeside hotels, many of them on stilts in the local style, capture the mood perfectly. Boats can be taken to visit stilted villages and pagodas, while those with more energy can go trekking to villages and monasteries in the hills above the lake. One attraction not to be missed is Indein Pagoda, a collection of weathered stupas dating back to the 13th century that are reached via a pleasant boat ride along a narrow canal, where locals can be seen fishing from the banks and farmers often bathe their water buffalo.

The Royal Barge At Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival

Inle Lake lies in the cool, green hills of Shan State, an area of outstanding natural beauty and cultural diversity. For centuries the Intha have developed their own unique lifestyle based around this beautiful body of water.

The lake is the perfect staging ground for visits to other attractions in the region. The nearby town of Nyaungshwe is home to a small collection of monasteries and serves as a departure point for treks to ethnic villages. The caves at Pindaya are well worth a look. The entrance to the network of caverns is watched over by the 15-metrehigh Shwe U Min Pagoda, and beyond that visitors will find subterranean chambers lined with thousands of old Buddha images, as well as rock formations with names like the Weaving Loom of the Fairy Princesses. Some stalactites, if struck by a wooden mallet, make a ringing sound that echoes through the caverns.

Pindaya Caves

Buddha Images in Pindaya Caves

Farther away, the old British hill station of Kalaw is a great place to escape the heat and take leisurely walks among the pine trees and bamboo groves. More ambitious travellers can trek or mountain bike through stunning mountain scenery to visit Palaung, Pa-O and Danu villages.

The region’s most spectacular event of the year is undoubtedly the fire balloon competition held every November in Taunggyi. Here thousands of people congregate to watch giant paper animals being inflated and sent floating off into the skies above the town. South of Taunggyi is a 16th century pagoda complex called Kekku, consisting of more than 2000 stupas clustered in a small valley. In March, thousands of Pa-O converge on this usually deserted site to camp out for three days and celebrate the Kekku Pagoda Festival by chanting prayers, offering fruit and flowers, and lighting candles.

Kekku Pagoda

Another popular event in the region is the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival. The pagoda, which is located in the middle of Inle Lake, houses five Buddha images, four of which are taken by golden barge on a tour of the 20 villages around the lake during the festival, spending one night at each. The barge is escorted by dozens of boats, and festivities include leg-rowing competitions. According to legend, many years ago the fifth image was also part of the tour but a storm caused all five statues to fall into the lake. Divers were only able to recover four of them. The distressed pilgrims returned to the pagoda to find the fifth Buddha miraculously returned to its place, dripping wet and covered with algae from the lake. Since then this image has remained in place while the others go on the village tour.