Inle Lake - Burma Travel Information

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Inle Lake is situated in Shan State, at the centr of Burma. The length of the lake is 22 km and it width is about 11 km. the lake?s water are very calm. The population that leaves around the lake in 17 small villages, mainly the Intha?s people, is very colorful and interesting. It is worthwhile mentioning that the average depth of the lake is about one meter and a half and its maximum depth is only 3 meters.

The legend tells that the Intha?s people arrived to the place after the local king (from the ?Moon? tribe) invited 2 brothers to serve him in 1359. The king was so satisfied from the service and requested the brothers to bring another 36 families to the place. The legend claims that the current Intha?s people are all descendants of the same 36 families.

Another part of the Shan State is Hsipaw and Pyin U Lwin, which you can read about separately.

Getting to Inle Lake

The backpackers? center of the lake is called Nyaung Shwe, and it is situated on the northern shore of the lake. To get to the village, take one of the direct busses that go from the cities Yangoon, Bagan and Mandalay to the town Taunggyi, which is the biggest town in the area. The busses will drop you off (if you will request) on the main road at Shwe Nyaung village (another village! Don?t be confused with Nyaung Shwe!). This is the point where the turn to the Nyaung Shwe village is, that is situated about 10 km southern. In the junction there are vehicles (waiting 24 hours a day) that will take you free of charge to the village. Their fee is the commission that they will receive from the hotel which they will take you to. Yet, not all hotels pay commission, thus you are taking a risk?

Boat Trip in Inle Lake

You can take a tour in the lake from Nyaung Shwe village, done usually with a boat that is rented for the day of the tour.

Route

Life on the lake
The tour in the lake starts with a cruise from the village where you slept, towards south. This is the part where you will be revealed to the fishermen?s lives that earn their living from the lake?s fish. The fishermen here are famous for their unique rowing, where they twist the paddle around their legs to assist in the rowing.

In addition you will see the villages around the lake, which most of them are built on poles and dips inside the water. The agriculture here is also interesting since the crops are done on garden-beds in the middle of the lake, therefore are called ?floating garden-beds?.

The wandering market
The fist stop in the tour is usually in the wandering market. This market moves from place to place every day of the week, according to fixed rotation. The market you will be visiting depends on the day of the week the tour will be. In one of the days the market takes place as a floating market, and the sellers and buyers are on boats. Most tourists try to arrive on this day, which makes the market full with organized groups.

The market is especially interesting since it centralizes all the different minority groups that leave in the mountains around the lake, and come there to buy and to sell dressed with their traditional clothes.

Traditional factories
Along the tour you can visit different traditional factories. The main problem is that the purpose of the visit is to convince you to buy something in the plant. The plants are commercialized, yet keep the traditional working systems, and therefore are interesting to visit.

The tour in the lake will usually include a tour in umbrellas factories, textile weaving factory, silk factory, cigarette factory, goldsmith that works with silver, smithy and more.

Indein
The place that can be added to the tour in the lake (the extended tour) is the village Indein. In the village there are few things that are worthwhile seeing. The village Indein is situated on the west shore of the lake and you can get there after a long cruise along long canal.

Near the village there is a monastery (Nyaung Ohak) with a big group of collapsed small ancient temples, that only the tour in them is worthwhile the arrival to the village.

You can also visit in the village (for extra payment) a few long-neck tribes? girls, although in my opinion this visit is forced, and the feeling is that they are sitting in a zoo?

To the fortunate of you that will get to the place during weekend, there is a chance to watch a cadet?s ceremony of young monks. The children are being led in a parade to the monastery in kingship?s clothes. In the monastery they will become monks for a certain period and after that they will return to be normal kids (in Burma every child goes for few months to be a monk in a monastery).

Tips

Leave early
The lake is full with tourists that leave for the tour more or less at the same time. As early as possible you will go, thus you will be able to enjoy the lake without all the tourists around you. The lake is magical at early morning light. Most tours start between 7:30 to 8:00.
Don?t choose the cheapest
When you do the inquiry about the tours, you will be told that there are 3 tours. The simple one, the extended one and the full one. The extra payment for the extended tour is not very big but it is definitely worth it! The extended part is the most beautiful one in my opinion (see below).
Don?t book the tour through your hotel
You can go to the river and easily coordinate the tour by yourself. The advantages are that the tour is cheapest this way, you know who will be your guide (and the languages he speak?) and which boat you will have.

Costs

The cost of the tour is not very high. The government collects $3 per person as entrance fee to the lake (the ticket is valid for 5 days, although one day is definitely enough). The cost of the boat is for the whole boat, thus as many people you will be, the price per person will be lower. Up to 8 people can get into the boat, but it is not recommended to put over 6 (otherwise it will be crowded!).