Inle Lake holidays offer beautiful scenery and a glimpse into rural life in Myanmar’s southern Shan state. Cruise across Lake Inle to see floating gardens and villages, painted pagodas, monasteries and the famous Intha boat rowers.
Set in a valley surrounded by the Shan mountains, Inle Lake is a haven for photographers, stretching 13.5 miles long and seven wide. Take a peaceful trip across its glassy surface, passing local Intha fishermen, who travel on flat bottomed boats and stand poised on one leg, the other wrapped around the oar. The lake is crisscrossed with waterways that lead past villages with stilted bamboo houses, home to many different Shan ethnic groups. Locals have created floating gardens from thick water weeds, where they cultivate vegetables, rice and fruit. Visit Inle Lake’s village workshops to see blacksmiths, workers hand rolling cigars and artisans weaving silk and textile products.
Inle Lake Burma holidays offer a blend of nature and culture
Sellers from various ethnic groups like the Pa-o and Danaw come down from their hillside villages to sell products at Inle’s Five Day Market, which runs every month. Don’t miss a visit to the lake’s stilted wooden monastery Nga Phe Kyaung, as well as Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, which is the holiest religious site in the region, known for its five golden Buddha statues. Travel across the water to Indein village to see crumbling pagodas that have become tangled with the forest. Its two clusters of temples were built between the 14th and 18th century and are decorated with intricate Buddhist carvings.
Want to uncover more of Myanmar’s treasures? The country has only recently opened its doors to tourism so boasts an untouched, authentic feel compared to more popular destinations in Southeast Asia. Explore the country with one of our tailored Inle Lake tours. Highlights include the bustling city of Yangon and its glittering Shwedagon Pagoda, hill top temples, as well as sunsets in historical Mandalay and a visit to Bagan archeological site, where over 2,000 temples pepper the landscape.
