Inle Lake

Vast, placid Inle Lake is one of Myanmar's great natural wonders. Its waters stretch for some 40km across the floor of the Nyaungshwe Valley, in the heart of the Shan Highlands. Inle has no discernible shoreline; instead its shallow waters (only 15ft at the deepest point) give way at the boundaries to marsh paddies, water hyacinth and thick reed barriers. It's a region of great natural beauty, but also of vital importance to the Intha people who live on and work the lake, their bamboo-stilt homes and floating gardens seemingly a part of the natural environment.

For many travellers Inle Lake comes as a refreshing change after the heat and dust of Bagan and Mandalay. Inle's relative altitude (2,850ft) ensures a cool climate. The lake is best explored by boat in the early morning or evening, when a thick pall of mist covers it.

In and around Inle Lake, Myanmar
Boat is the only way to get around Inle Lake and the isolated resorts that hug its shoreline. Tours of Inle are an opportunity to better understand the local Intha people, whose rhythms of life are dictated by the lake, where the ‘putput’ of their fishing boats is often the only sound to break the silence. The fishermen of Inle have developed an intriguing leg-rowing style. Equally fascinating are the floating gardens that they tend to, fed by the nutrient-rich water.

As well as its great natural beauty, Inle offers a number of sights of interest. Cruise through the reed beds to Indein, where hundreds of small, densely packed stupas, many crumbling, line the Shan Hills. Others will be enchanted by the wooden Nga Phe Chaung monastery, where the monks have taught the cats to jump through hoops, but more skilful are the local cottage industries such as silk weaving, silversmiths, boat building and cheroot making.

A wonderful time to visit Inle Lake is during the annual Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival, which lasts for 18 days between late Sept and early Oct and sees five gilded Buddha images paraded around the lake on an intricately-decorated barge. The procession, which is accompanied by lively rowing competitions, is spectacular, attracting pilgrims from all over the country, alongside a smattering of curious tourists.

The photo of Inle Lake is used with the kind permission of Stuart McKay.