Home Inle Lake Travel & Hotel Guide


Exotic Tours of Asia
 Myanmar Asia Travel Guide Find Hotels       

Inle Lake Tourist Attractions

Inle Lake Photo Gallery
Inle Lake Photo Gallery
Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery
Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery
Padaung People
Padaung People
Phaung Daw U Pagoda
Phaung Daw U Pagoda
Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung Monastery
Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung Monastery
Ywama Village
Ywama Village

Inle Lake, most scenic lake in Myanmar

Foot-Rowing Fisherman of Inle Lake
Foot-Rowing Fisherman of Inle Lake
© Timothy Tye (28 November 2003)

Leg-rowing Fisherman, Inle Lake
Leg-rowing Fisherman, Inle Lake
© Timothy Tye (21 November 2003)

Floating Gardens, Inle Lake
Floating Gardens, Inle Lake
© Timothy Tye (21 November 2003)

Inle Lake, a shallow, 158-sq-km body of water in the south of Shan State in Myanmar, is one of the most scenic lakes in Southeast Asia. You go go to Inle Lake from Yangon (Rangoon) by a 40-minute flight on board a propeller aircraft. The nearest airport is at Heho. Arriving there, you may opt to stay at Nyaungshwe, the town at the northern part of Inle Lake, or Taunggyi, the highland capital, on in a few resorts on Inle Lake itself. I visited Inle Lake with a group of AsiaExplorers members, and am documenting it here to tell you about it.

Guide to Inle Lake Hotels

Here's a list of hotels in Inle Lake that you can book online, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites.

More on Inle Lake

What makes Inle Lake so fascinating is the way of life of the people there. The people who live around Inle Lake are called the Intha. Nyaungshwe is the oldest of 200 Intha settlement around the lake. It sits on the edge of a 5-km wide strip of silt and water hyacinth that somewhat mask the true size of the lake.

The lake weed of Inle is collected by the Intha people to create floating gardens, which are anchored to the lake bed with bamboo poles. These floating gardens, called kyunpaw, produces cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peas, beans, eggplants and other vegetables, at such an abundant quantity that truckloads can be taken from the kyunpaw of the Inle region and distributed throughout Myanmar.

Perhaps the biggest attraction for many to Inle Lake is to view the unique way the Intha fishermen row their canoes. Unlike the lake dwellers anywhere else, the Intha fishermen use their legs to row, thereby freeing their hands to fish. They usually work alone on their long canoes, on which they perch themselves on a tiny area at the stern. They are surprisingly agile even at that precarious position. During the AsiaExplorers trip to Inle Lake, I watch them handle their massive fishtrap with great ease.

Which leads me to mention another visible attraction of Inle Lake: the fishermen's unique method of fishing. The Intha fisherman uses a tall conical trap containing a gill net. Looking for telltale sign of fish in the lake, he thrusts the trap to the 3 meter deep lake. Any fish within the range - from the metre-long Inle carp to catfish, or perhaps a lake eel - is his immediate catch.



Return to Myanmar Travel Guide







  • Tips to become a smart traveler: Useful tips to remember, to get the best out of your travels.
  • Preparing for a Trip: Systematic approach to help you prepare for your trip.
  • How to plan your travel itinerary: Step-by-step guide to creating the itinerary for your trip.
  • Find and compare hotel room rates: View room rates from all the different booking sites.
  • Learn to compare room rates: Step-by-step guide on finding the lowest rates every time.
  • When NOT to go where: List of seasons to avoid when traveling the globe.
  • How to pack your luggage: Useful steps to take when packing your luggage.
  • Packing List (PDF): Print out this free packing list to make sure you don't forget anything for your trip.
  • Voltage, Frequency, Plugs & Sockets of the World: Learn about the mains electricity supply in the world.
  • Travelers' List of Plugs and Sockets (PDF): Easy-to-use list of electricity and plugs for all countries.
  • Making International Direct Dail Calls: Learn to make IDD calls from anywhere in the world.
  • IDD Call Prefixes & Country Codes (PDF): Listing of Call Prefixes and Country Codes on one page for you to bring on your trip.
  • Safety Tips When Traveling Alone: Useful advice for when you travel on your own.
  • Guide to Health Matters related to Travel: Comprehensive coverage of different issues related to your health when traveling.
  • Getting Travel Insurance for your trip: Benefits of travel insurance, and advise on when you should signing up for one.
  • Improve your travel photography: Tips to improve your photography skills, especially when traveling.
  • Guide to Traveling Around the World: Useful tips for encircling the globe.
  • English Made Simple: Improve your English for your travel.












  • Follow Me on Pinterest

    Point - Click - Discover!

    Thanks for visiting this webpage. To continue exploring, choose another destination!


    My World Travel Guides - celebrating a beautiful world beautifully.


    SBI! Results