Also known as the Golden Land, Myanmar is truly a great tourist destination for your summer journey. Thanks to the thousands of amazing sights, natural scenery, and picturesque architecture, Myanmar can steal any traveler’s heart from the moment they leave the plane and set foot on this beautiful land. Coming to Myanmar, you will have an excellent opportunity to explore the beautiful capital Yangon with splendid temples, bustling markets or admire the scenery hundreds of large and small pagodas hidden amidst the green trees with hot air balloon over Bagan. One of the experiences that you can not miss while visiting Myanmar is to discover the unspoiled natural beauty of Inle Lake. This article will bring you the very useful information make you just want to carry luggage and discover Inle Lake Myanmar immediately.
An overview of Inle Lake Myanmar
About 600 km from Yangon, Inle is a freshwater lake located in the mountains. It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with the main inhabitants living on the lake. Moreover, Inle Lake Myanmar has been selected as one of the five new destinations in Asia by the world’s leading magazine Condé Nast Traveler.
Inle (or Inlay) in Myanmar means a large lake, located at the center of Shan State, about 40 km south of Taung – Kyi City, Shan State Capital. The lake is located about 889 meters above sea level, surrounded by majestic mountains, and covers an area of about 220 km2. The deepest areas of Inle Lake is about 6 m with the seasonal variation of water between the dry season (May) and the full water season (August) is about 1.2 m.
For a long time, Inle Lake Myanmar is not only a picturesque destination but also a home to the Inthar (a minority ethnic group in Myanmar). Inthar in Myanmar means “lake-dweller”. From thousand years, Inle Lake is still the place where all the social activities of Inthar people take place. They built their residences and architecture monuments on the lake. The greatest idea of the Inthar people is that they cultivate the plants on the water by making floating rafts from duckweed plants, moss, and bamboo. Therefore, these “floating fields” will rise and fall follow up the water level in the lake.
The most common plant of the Inthar is tomatoes. Tomatoes grown on the Inle Lake Myanmar are a specialty of this place. Myanmar people often say that a trip to Inle Lake will never complete without enjoying tomato salad here. When a girl reaches the age of marriage, her parents often separate a few floats to make dowries for her. After that, she can move her float to anywhere her new family want to settle and cultivate. Apart from cultivation, the Inthar still live on fishing in this Inle Lake Myanmar.
Visiting Inle Lake Myanmar in an afternoon, you can admire one of the most beautiful scenery here. Scattered in the light of sunrise, the fishermen drop the fishing net on the lake. Image of the Inthar men rowing with a foot in a small boat has become a typical culture of this mysterious lake. Although hard life, the Inthar extremely loved and attached to Inle Lake. Inle Lake Myanmar is the place where all activities of culture, production of people takes place. The largest festival of this beautiful land is usually held in September every year. At this time, you can come here, immersed in the bustling atmosphere and join the exciting traditional activities. The peaceful beauty of Inle Lake is also felt on every quiet summer night, so that the neighborhood can hear the singing, echoing from somewhere far away from the fishermen are fishing night, or the couple loves each other are exchanging charm on the lake dreaming.
Transport to Inle Lake
The purchase of domestic airfares is quite easy from travel agents or motels. However, you should book your flight in advance in case your flight is over. Cars are not a good choice because travel time is quite long and the cost is not reasonable. From Heho Airport, the four-seats taxi to Nyaungshwe is 278,000 VND – 370,000 VND (about 15-20 USD / car) and the way from the airport to the village is usually more expensive than the opposite.
The only way to discover Inle Lake is by boat which costs 200,000 VND (about 10 USD / boat/day for four people). There are many floating villages such as the village of flowers, the village of cigars, villages of the Pa-O, silver jewelry village, cloth weaving and handicrafts village, In Dein village,…Besides, you also can come and visit Ywama floating market meeting once a day, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda or Jumping Cat Monastery,…
Today, Inle Lake Myanmar attracts both domestic and international tourists with pristine beauty and natural scenery. Moreover, it is really the favorite destination of many tourists want to learn about the land with thousand years of history & civilization. At present, in the south of Inle Lake Myanmar, there is still land which is dubbed as Bagan in Shan State. It is the oldest remaining Indo-Ancient city with 11th-century brick buildings or the cultural beauties of ethnic minorities such as Padaung, formerly known as the capital of Shan.
If you have walked around Inle Lake, you can not miss admiring the spectacular sunset. The orange sunshine from the sky gradually diminished, brightening a corner of the lake and make the scene becomes sparkling fanciful. Now, let’s enjoy some food with musical space, experience those brilliant moments with your friends. It is always an unforgettable memory.
In addition, riding on the Red Mountain to visit the famous vineyard and winemaking location of the country is an enjoyable experience. You can stop yourself under a lush old tree, admiring the magnificent panorama Inle Lake Myanmar from above and enjoy a glass of wine under the peaceful sky. This unique experience can cause many people to feel like they are living in a peaceful countryside in France.
Enjoy traditional food of Inle Lake Myanmar
In Nyaungshwe village, there are many resorts with reasonable costs from 185,000 VND to 370,000 VND($ 10-20/room/ night). (If you sleep on the Inle Lake, you have to stay at a luxury resort with a high cost from 833,000 VND (about 45 USD ++ / room/night). Your room rates are always inclusive of breakfast.
Coming to Inle Lake Myanmar, you will have a great chance to discover one of the most fascinating dishes in Inle Lake: Shan local food. The feeling of sitting in a floating house in Nyaungshwe village with an amazing meal of green salad dressing mixed with garlic vinegar, fried vegetable, grilled prawn, sticky rice… is the really worthy experience. Moreover, you can also discover their culinary elite at the restaurant on the lake or ViewPoint restaurant in Nyaungshwe village, but the cost is not cheap either.
The best
Because Lake Inle has a great climate, splendid scenery and romance space, it will be very suitable for couples at all times of the year. However, the best time is from September to October every year, as there are many festivals with traditional indigenous custom. The most fun activity on Lake Inle is to hunt down the sun when the sunset. And so, cameras or camcorders are indispensable for the trip.
At the end of the day, after admiring the scenery of the sunset in Inle Lake is the moment you need to say goodbye to this beautiful land to return to the busy city, with the busy life. Before you go, do not forget to pick some interesting souvenirs for your loved ones. And do not forget to share your feeling after this trip to Inle Lake Myanmar. Hope that the above information of “Inle Lake – the jewel in the heart of Myanmar” can warm up your spirit and elevate your satisfaction to the highest notch.
