Inle Lake

The Inle Lake region is one of Myanmar's most desired destinations, which every tourist wants to visit when travelling in Myanmar. Inle is a serene lake, 13.5 miles long and 7 miles wide, where floating villages and Buddhist temples rise above the water, and Intha fishers control the boats along via their unique technique of leg-rowing. Since this is a major tourist attraction, Inle lake has gone under some development of tourism in the past few years.

To explore this fantastic destination, it’s worth starting from its surrounding hills and villages. They are also really scenic, with many exciting experiences waiting for you.

The best way to feel Inle is along with the river. Every morning, there are a lot of wooden canoes and motorboats taking visitors to various natural, cultural, religious and historic sites of Inle.

The boat trip will bring you to the famous sights in northern part of this lake, such as Phaung Daw Oo Paya in Tha Ley, the Nga Hpe Kyaung (Jumping Cat Monastery) in Nga Phe village, and the floating gardens. And don’t miss out taking the photos of the fishing Intha fishermen, especially before and at the sunset, as there would be some of the most photogenic shoots in your album. For further destination, you can visit Inthein, with ruined, hilltop pagodas look down on the water.

Phaung Daw Oo Paya

Even though boat life is the signature of Inle, there are also lots of interests beside the lake, including handicrafts and silversmithing. These typical products are sold at a local market - also a unique of this place as it is held daily but the location of the event rotates through five different sites around the lake, and one of them is on the lake itself. You can satisfy your need for souvenirs while observing them being done.

Climate, the best time to visit

Because of its location, Inle Lake belongs to the monsoonal climate with an annual average temperature of 26°C. The weather is quite hot in May, reaching 30°C on average; and slightly down in January. The average annual rainfall is about 1,370 mm, and the wettest period falls between May and September.

September and October are considered as the most pleasant months to take a trip to Inle Lake because of dry weather, less rain and the time of festivals. The weather in these months can be suitable for you to visit many places.

How to get there

The easiest and most comfortable way to get in Inle lake is by domestic flight. The closest airport is in Heho, which take an hour to drive to Inle.

There is also trains coming from Kalaw, Thazi or even from Yangon (direct), can bring you to Nyaung Shwe, which town is situated only 18 km away from Inle lake.

Another great idea is to combine Inle in your own-tailored trip, besides other top destinations of Myanmar, such as Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay… A private car can take you to your places of interest with the convenience and comfort.

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