Inle Lake

Understand

Climate Due to its higher altitude, temperatures around the lake tend to be cooler than in Mandalay. Winter temperatures often fall below 10°C at night so make sure you are prepared for that.

Getting there

By plane The closest airport is in Heho, about 45 minutes away by taxi from the main town by Lake Nyaungshwe (walk down the road towards the main highway to negotiate a better rate). Taking a taxi from the airport can be quite expensive, at around 25,000 kyat. Most people share a taxi with 3 people. A good way to save money is to book a taxi in advance with your guesthouse for about 15,000 kyat. There are winter and summer rates for flights through all major airlines in the country.

By bus Buses depart daily from Yangon and take about 13 hours. Buses take 10 hours from Mandalay. Air conditioned buses from Bagan take 9 hours with JJ express and cost US$11-20 (2 hours from Kalaw) and operate day and night. The journey is a little bumpy although there are frequent stops including for lunch. From Bago 13,000 kyat, 14hr. Bring warmer clothing on the bus as air-con temperatures can get low. If you are looking to sleep, earplugs are a good idea as music will be playing on the video screen in front of the bus.

By pick-up (line-ka) A very cheap option from Taunggyi is a pick-up (1 hour and around 600 kyat). Pickup trucks will leave from the main market.

By train The next train station is Shwenyaung station, from where Lake Inle can be reached by bus, pick-up or taxi.

Getting around

You can walk around town easily or rent a bicycle for about 1,500 kyat per day, which you also use to tour the surroundings.

See

1 Kakku Pagodas. 2,000 Buddhist pagodas dating back to the 12th century, and an important religious site for the Pa-O ethnic group. South east of the lake in the hills and quite isolated and tricky to get to. Foreigners are required to be accompanied by a local Pa-O guide to access the site, who can be hired at the Tourism Office in Taunggyi. Closes at 17:00. (updated Oct 2017) 2 Kaung Daing village. A small fishermen's village reachable by bicycle. Hot springs & mountain monastery 1 km to the north. There will be boat drivers offering to take you across the lake to Maing Thauk (max 8,000 kyat per boat, 30 minute). (updated Oct 2017) 3 Maing Thauk Monastery & Pagoda. 20-30 minutes walk up the hill from Maing Thauk village (updated Oct 2017) 4 Shwe Inn Dein Pagoda. A stupa forest. Broken down stupas, some still intact, overgrown with plants, hidden somewhere in the forest around Inle Lake, near Tone Le. You will most likely be the only one there and may feel like you're the first person to ever see them – although there are now shops all along the path. Free entrance, but a 500 kyat camera fee at the bottom. From Nyuang Shwe this is about 90 mins drive. A return taxi will cost in the region of 40,000 kyat. You can also reach it by boat (include it in your daytrip boat tour on the lake, for about 5,000 kyat). Possibly reachable by bicycle as well. (updated Oct 2017)

Do

Inle lake

There is a 15,000 Kyat (as of January 2019) entry fee per person to the lake, charged by the government. This fee is often collected at the bus or at the airport when you arrive. The ticket is not checked once you have passed the checkpoint. A boat trip on the lake is a must do. Most of the trips will visit a few workshops selling local souvenirs, like teak objects, paper, silver and lotus silk fabrics. You can tell your boat driver that you don't want to visit any of them if you are not interested in these shops. However, learning about the local small-scale industries and arts is certainly worth it. Informative guided tours are provided by the shops for free. Bring cash if you consider buying souvenirs. Upon the canal to the open lake you may see people in traditional clothes standing on one leg in their boat and posing with a fishing basket, presenting then dead caught fish and will finally ask for tips. Full day trip takes about 7 hours and costs 15,000-20,000 kyat, driver will go wherever you tell them to, but remember that he is not a guide nor does he necessarily speak English. Any guesthouse or travel agency can arrange this trip for you. You may have a better experience by chartering a boat directly, clearly agreeing on the planned stops, and starting very early in the morning before most other tour boats, and also allowing you to arrive at market while it's busy. As of 2015, locals claim that the floating market doesn't exist any more due to too many tourists. For solo travelers in low season, it might be hard to find others to join. So, walk around the jetty and the bridge. Most boats depart between 08:00-11:00.

Please do not photograph people when they are showering or washing plates. Common stops and things to do:

Teak and Cheroot. Nan Pan market contains a teak wood workshop and cheroot-making. See and learn how boats are built, and browse through small teak wood souvenirs. See the local cheroots (cigars) being made, but you want to sk

Buy

Remember to bargain, Inle Lake is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Myanmar. Prices will routinely be double what locals would pay. Products that appear old are fake (such as opium weight sets) and many goods being offered by shops are cheap products made for the tourist trade.

Massage @ Phyu Phyu's Bamboo Hut, Yone Gyi Rd (near bridge). Visit Phyu Phyu's Bamboo Hut for traditional Burmese massage by one of Phyu Phyu's family members. This wonderful young woman (with the nicest family) can also book boat trips (and guide you), canoes or trekking. Mr A Tun (Mu Kyi), Nyaungshwe (on the big road if you come from the market/jetty area, just half a block past the pizzeria (Golden Kite) on the left side). Great little tour company, run only by Mu Kyi, that tries to differentiate himself from the many other tour companies in Nyaungshwe. He speaks fluent English and doesn't rip off tourists like some of the dodgier places. The bus ticket to Yangon is also 1,000 kyat cheaper than elsewhere (14,000 kyat). Sunny Day Tour Services, West of market, Nyang Shwe Township (follow the road down from the bridge; you will be able to see this on your left on one of the crossing streets), [email protected]. You can hire a hiking guide for a very reasonable price. The guide Ko Thwe speaks excellent English and is able to organise hikes, and is flexible depending on where you want to go. He can also guide you to Kalaw. Approximately 10,000 kyat. T.K (Bus Ticket Centre) (T.K (Bus Ticket Centre)), Win Quarter (Paung Daw Pyan Street near the Bright Hotel) (Near the Main jetty), ☏ +95 9428358770, +95 9428358770, [email protected]. Bus Ticket,Air Ticket,Boat Trips,House Hiding,Trekking Tour,Bike Rent, (updated Jul 2017)

Eat

Several restaurants in the floating village. There are several options for restaurants in the floating village. These are fairly clean and give a good view of the restaurant, with fairly cheap delicious food. Don't miss the Inle style spicy fish curry. On