Inle Lake - Heaven on Earth in Myanmar

 

Inle Lake is located in the mountain of Shan state at about 600 km from Yangon. This is one of the two largest freshwater lakes in Myanmar with the people living in floating houses.

 

Inle Lake - Heaven on Earth in Myanmar:

 

Inle Lake (or inlay) meaning in Burmese language: Grand Lake is located in the center of Shan State, about 40 km in south of the town of Taung-kyi or the capital of Shan State.

 

Surrounded by high mountains and with an area of ​​about 220 km², Inle Lake is located at an altitude of about 889 meters above the sea level. The deepest place is about 6 m, difference in water level between the dry season (May) and the rainy season (August) is about 1.2 m.

 

Inle Lake is not only known by the poetic beauty but also by the Inthar people (a minority in Myanmar). In Burmese language, Inthar means "people who live on the lake." Since thousands of years, Inle Lake is the location where all activities of the social life of this people take place.

 

The Inthar people live entirely on the lake where they build houses. The initiative considered as the most important of Inthar people is that they make the crops on the water surface by forming floating plots from herbs that are fixed by bamboo poles sinking into the lake. Thus, the "floating fields" go up and down depending on the water level in the lake.

 

The most common crop is tomato. The tomatoes that are grown on Inle Lake are one of the specialties in Myanmar. The Burmese people often say "If you do not eat tomatoes of Inle Lake, it proves that you don’t come here.”. When a girl is married, her parents give her some plots as a wedding present. In addition to agriculture, Inthar people live from fishing on Inle Lake.

 

Scattered in the rays of dawn in the east, the fishermen cast nets on the lake. Photos of Inthar men navigating their boats with one leg became a living cultural characteristic of Inle Lake. Inle attracts visitors not only by the wild beauty and resorts close to nature, but this is a destination to learn about a culture of long history.

 

In south of Inle Lake, the Indeinold city is considered as Baganof Shan state. This old town which still preserves buildings constructed in brick from 11th century, was once the capital of King Shan.

 

After discovering all corner of the Inle Lake, you cannot miss the opportunity to enjoy an impressive sunset sun on the lake. An orange glow of the sun shines on the horizon, the landscape becomes fanciful and visitors cannot master the tears in front of a quiet, dreamy world.

 

Inle Lake –Means of transport:

 

Inle Lake is accessible from Bagan and Mandalay or even from Yangon to Heho airport by plane or by local bus. In fact, to save time and to reduce spending, the air way is one of the best options.

 

From Mandalay, in the morning, there is a flight to Heho airport which is the gateway to Inle Lake and Kalaw region. There are three domestic airlines which are: Air Mandalay, Air Bagan and Yangon with similar costs.

 

If you do not want to lose all morning, despite the flight from Mandalay to Heho takes about 20 minutes, you can choose to travel by night bus between Mandalay and Heho. The bus leaves in 19 hours to reach Shwenyaung at about 6 am of the next day. Shwenyaung is the bus station which is located at 11km from Inle Lake.

To explore Inle Lake, you have only one option: motorboat which usually carries 4 passengers per boat with life jackets and coverage. You can easily find a boat at any time in the harbor. You can choose the 1 or 2 days trips if you want spend a night on a floating village in the center of Inle Lake. The vastness and beauty of Inle Lake will fascinate you and you will regret if you don’t not have occasion to travel in Inle Lake in Myanmar by waking up here once.