- Location: South of Shana, Myanmar
- Average depth: 1.52 m
- Area: 116.3 km²
- Height above sea level: 884 m
- Attractions: floating villages, Phaung Do Do U Quang, monastery of jumping cats
Surprisingly beautiful freshwater lake in the central part of Myanmar , amazing not only for its splendor, but also for the amazing life of local residents, is one of those places that can not be easily avoided. Local tribes live and conduct their farming directly on the water. Bamboo houses on stilts, floating vegetable gardens, an unusual way of fishing, a local monastery of trained cats - all this can be seen only here.
A few words about Inle Lake in Myanmar
Lake Inle (Inle Lake) stretched at a distance of 22 km from north to south in the state of Shan Myanmar . Its width is 10 km, and the water level in the lake reaches 875 m above sea level. In translation from Burmese Inle means "small lake", although this is far from the case. Lake Inle is the second largest in the country. It is shallow, in the dry season the average depth is about 2.1 m, and when rains pour, the depth can reach 3.6 m. In total around 70 000 people live in the vicinity of Inle Lake in Myanmar , they are located in four small towns near lakes, and also in 17 floating villages along the coast and on the water. In the lake there are about 20 species of snails and 9 species of fish, for which the local people are happy to hunt. Since 1985, Lake Inle has been taken under special protection to protect the birds that live here.
The climate on Inle Lake in Myanmar is a monsoon, wet period between May and September. However, in the dry season rains here are quite frequent, perhaps more often than at any other resort in Myanmar . Early in the morning and closer to night in the lake area is pretty cool, especially noticeable in January and February, so tourists are advised to bring warm socks, sweaters and jackets with them to stay warm.
Attractions and tourism on Inle Lake
The locals built here their little "Venice" - floating streets with houses on several floors, shops, souvenir shops. All this costs the same as their bamboo dwellings, on stilts, and the way to houses is done on boats by special channels. There are even temples floating here, from which one can distinguish a huge temple complex Phaung Do Do U Kuang, as well as a monastery of jumping cats.
- The Phaung Do Do Pagoda is one of the most revered and visited shrines in Myanmar . This is the most sacred pagoda in the entire southern part of the state of Shan. It is located in the main boat pier of Iwama on Lake Inle. In Phaung Do Do, five statues of the Buddha, which were once donated by King Alun Sith, are kept. To preserve these statues, a pagoda was erected.
- Nga Phe Kyaung , otherwise known as the monastery of jumping cats , is very popular with tourists. This monastery is already 160 years old, in itself it is small and not luxurious, and there are only six monks in it. The legend of Nga Phe Kyaung says that once it fell into decay and desolation, there were almost no monks in it, and pilgrims rarely came. Then the abbot appealed to cats, who always lived on the shore of Lake Inle a huge number. And soon things went up the hill. Over time, revered here for the help of cats, local monks began to train and collect donations for their performances.
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On the life of local residents in Inle
The main occupation of the Inta tribe is the cultivation of so-called floating vegetable gardens - small islands of land with a fertile marsh mass, which are attached to the bottom of Lake Inle with sharp poles. Here, and grow vegetables, fruits and flowers. All members of the family take part in the construction of floating gardens. Children are required to cut and dry the reed, then from it women weave special long beds, which are called mats. Men are engaged in securing the poles to the bottom and then on boats dragging the mats, fix, and from above lay a fertile marshy silt. After that, women are again involved in the business and planted seedlings of vegetables or flowers. By the way, in local shops you can even buy ready-made beds, which enterprising traders sell by the meter.
Another no less important occupation of Inle Lake residents in Myanmar is fishing. Fish in the lake are plenty and catching it is very convenient, especially if you consider that the lake is shallow, and the water in it is transparent. Inta do not fish for bait or on the net, for them this is a long and complex method. They came up with a special bamboo trap of a cone-shaped shape. Trap set to the bottom, and the fish swam inward can not get out of it.
Inta moves along the Inla lake on high-speed boats (they are called sampans) or canoes on specially constructed narrow canals. Amazing and unusual way of rowing, which is used inta. They do not sit on oars, as rowers usually do, moving in a boat. At all, inta stand on the nose of their sampans, holding the paddle with one hand and one foot. This way of rowing allows them not only to deftly operate this very paddle, but also to manage with tackles with a free second hand.
Floating villages on Inle Lake
It is impossible to ignore or talk about the amazing floating villages on Lake Inle in Myanmar. They are about 17, the most famous are Maytau, Indain and Iwama.
- The village of Maitau is known for its small forest monastery. To the village of Maitau there is a bridge, in which in the evenings local women in motley national costumes greet tired couples from work. For tourists Inle Lake there is a small cafe and a souvenir shop with crafts by local residents.
- In the village of Indain there is a monastery of the same name. It is guarded by a meandering canal, since the oldest local stupa, which is about two thousand years old, is a very great shrine for the locals. The way to the Indain village lies up on the boat along one of the western canals of the Inle lake.
- The village of Iwama is famous for its floating markets. Every five days Iwama becomes the busiest place on Inla Lake, there is a booming trade on boats. A lot of traders and buyers, accumulating in one place, sometimes create water jams, in which there is a danger of getting stuck and losing time. Therefore, it is preferable to buy souvenirs and goods on the shore of the lake, where the assortment is wider, and it is easier to bargain.
Accommodation and meals at Inle Lake
Thinking about a lodging in the vicinity of Inle Lake in Myanmar, be sure to think about spending the night in an exotic floating hotel on stilts. Luxurious Ine Princes Resort is always at the service of vacationers. The cost of a double room is from $ 80 per night, depending on the category of the room. For this money you will get not only comfortable living conditions with everything you need for rest, but also incomparable with anything the atmosphere of a quiet and serene night on Inle Lake and contemplation of bizarre floating structures.
Just snack or eat lunch at Inla Lake in a small cafe of national cuisine located on Phaung Daw Pyan streett. The menu features pancakes with a huge number of different fillers - vegetables, fish, chicken, cheese, jam, condensed milk and fruit fillings. One serving of pancakes will cost about 1500-3500 chat. Be sure to try homemade yogurt, especially delicious when adding honey.
Shopping on Inle Lake
The main trade on Lake Inle is not carried out in shops or souvenir shops. Very popular are floating markets. Local people buy and sell their goods directly on boats. The market opens every five days, but its location is changing. Buy on everything you can from souvenirs, fruits, fish and ending with embroidered gold and silver threads with carpets, lacquer boxes (worth $ 5), carved wooden products (about $ 15), antique swords and daggers (about 20-30 dollars ).
To the tourist on a note
Approximately 40 km away in Heho is the nearest airport to Inle Lake. The most frequent flights to Heho come from the international airports of Yangon and Mandalay .
Most of the guests and residents of Myanmar prefer a more budget option - public transport . The nearest town, from where several routes are sent at once, is Taunji. You can get from Yangon to Inle Lake by bus from Taunji, it will cost about 15 thousand kilometers. The distance of 600 km between Yangon and Inle Lake bus passes for 16-20 hours. Therefore, to arrive by the middle of the day to the lake, the bus departs from Taunji at night. Other popular routes for tourists are Taunji Bagan (12 hours en route, the lake arrives at 5 am) and Taunji Mandalay (8-10 hours en route, arrive in the evening).
The largest number of tourists visit Inle Lake in September and October, mainly because of the Phaung Do Do festival, which lasts for three weeks from the end of September to the middle of October.