Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea is considered as the jewel of Myanmar, with its charming landscape and unique culture of Inthar people. All will definitely help you to have a great experience while traveling to Myanmar. However, for the most convenient and fun trip, you should refer to the Inle Lake tour guide below!
I/ Things to know about Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea
Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District, Shan State in Burma. The entire Inle Lake area has a total of 17 small islands, more than 100 villages with 19 floating villages right on the lake. It is the second largest lake in Myanmar. Its estimated surface area is about 44.9 square miles (116 km2). It’s also one of the highest lakes in the world at an elevation of 2,900 feet (880 m). During the dry season, the average water depth is 7 feet (2.1 m), with the deepest point being 12 feet (3.7 m), but during the rainy season, this can increase by 5 feet (1.5 m). That’s why people call it Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea of Myanmar.
Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea is a must-visit place when traveling to Myanmar
II/ How to get to Inle Lake?
From Yangon or Mandalay, you can easily choose the right means of transport to travel to Inle:
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Long distance bus service: According to travel experience in Myanmar, this is the best way to get to Inle. There are many big companies such as Elite or JJ Express that has the good quality of bus in Myanma. You can book or check the price of the bus through the Travel Agent such as www.oway.com.mm or www.myanmarbusticket.com. In addition, you can order directly with the car manufacturer by email or text message on their fanpanafy. The cost for the way as Mandalay – Inle: 17,615Kyat; Yangon – Inle: 27,700Kyat.
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Fly to Inle: It is also a good choice, as there is usually a daily flight between Yangon and He Ho, which is 30km from Inle Lake. Then, you can take a taxi to move from He Ho to Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea. Of course, this method will cost more than the bus.
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By train: This is a medium that we do not recommend because the train in Myanmar is quite ancient and slow, especially when the distance from other cities to Inle is quite long. However, if you enjoy watching the scenery of this country, this is also an enjoyable experience.
III/ Where to stay in Inle?
To discover the beauty of Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea, you should spend at least 2 days. So that’s important to find a reasonable address for rest and overnight. The tourists often stay in Nyaungshwe town, where has lots forms of accommodation for you to choose.
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Luxury hotel: The hotel offers a wide range of facilities for your comfortable stay.
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Motels: When staying here, you can save the money with their reasonable prices.
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Domirtory: which is shared with many other tourists, but unlike the type of hostel in Europe or other countries, each room here has only 3-4 people and each person has a single bed. The overnight cost here is also very cheap.
In Inle, there are many hotels, motels on the lake for tourists
IV/ Cuisine of Inle
The people here are mainly Shan so that the food here also bold features of the indigenous people. You can enjoy these delicious dishes at the restaurants located on the lake or inside the town of Nyaungshwe. Some of the distinctive dishes you should try: chicken, sweet and sour soup, curry,…. In general, the food here is quite good, not difficult to eat but the price is very reasonable.
V/ Travel experiences cannot be ignored at Inle
1. Rent a boat to visit Inle Lake
Boating on the Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea is one of the best experience when traveling Myanmar. You can rent motorboats in Inle to admire all the beauty of the lake from 9am to the evening for 15,000 kyats. Each boat can carry up to 5 people and has 2 umbrellas. You can also negotiate for a better price.
Especially, the boatmen in the traditional long-dressed skirt stood on the boat’s nose and used only one leg to paddle and control the boat in the right direction. But the women here do not row like men. They sail in the middle of the boat and use hand to paddle. It is an unforgettable experience for tourists when watching the people here paddle while dropping fishing net. Because you can not see this scene anywhere else.
During your journey, you will feel peaceful when enjoying the cool, fresh air, watching the vast lake ánd the majestic mountains far away. All your tired, anxious will completely disappear. Inle Lake is also one of the most beautiful spots to see the sunrise, sunset in Myanmar.
The unique sailing image of local people in Inle
2. Visit traditional silver handicraft villages
After crossing a large section of Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea, the boat began to sail into smaller alleys to enter the sights. The first point is the silver handicraft village. Here, there are some floating houses with traditional silver crafts. People sell all items, jewelry that made of silver, they also blow silver for visitors to admire. In addition to the silverware shop, there is also a daily market that sells all sorts of souvenirs and jewelry for tourists, and even fish markets, foodstuffs. Passing through a small bridge, you will see the characteristic temple of Inle.
3. Visit Indein – the land of thousands of temples
After leaving the silver village, you can continue boating to Indein – one of the major tourist attractions of Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea. This is a large area that’s famous for thousands of small temples, you will feel like losting in a new strange land. To explore this area, perhaps it takes a half day. The temple here is small with a 3m high average. They have pointed roofs and stand close together as the huge sticks hung on the ground. These temples have two colors, mostly yellow and the color of the red brick.
4. Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery
Nga Phe Kyaung is the oldest monastery in the area. It was built in the late 1850s entirely of precious and rare wood and has a mysterious dark wood color. There are hundreds of Buddha statues that wa donated by the kings and royalty. The monks here are very skillful in training many cats who jump around the circle, so people here also call it the “cat dance monastery”. Everything here is peaceful, also crowded tourists but not so noisy, messy.
Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery is a tourist attraction
5. Visit the floating village of the Inthar people
Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea does not only have beautiful scenery but also be the residence of Inthar ethnic group (a minority of Myanmar). Inthar in Myanmar means “lake-dweller”. The people of Inthar completely live on the lake. They built houses, architectural works and farms on the surface of Inle Lake. The boatman will take you from floating market to another village: a long-necked textile village, the tomato field on water, a cat house,… The landscape will change with the mountains, fragrant flowers, riverside scenes, aquatic life, pagodas, towers, numerous wooden covered bridges and small waterfalls. You can witness the life and work of people here, explore the cultural characteristics of this area.
6. Visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda
Phaung Daw Oo is the most famous temple in Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea. The temple has five small gilded Buddha statues, which are covered with gold leaf so that people can not see its original shape. Sticking leaves on the Buddha statue is to pray for peace, and the regulation here is only men can paste leaves on the statue. This temple is the center of organizing big festivals of the whole lake, from the festival of Buddha, boat racing to the lecture sessions, prayers.
Being one of Myanmar’s most remarkable wonders, Inle is the cultural heart of Shan State. When traveling to this country, don’t forget to visit Inle Lake Burma – unique highland sea of the world.
