Welcome

Inle Lake is a natural place of interest in Burma that has been receiving lots of praises for its beauty.  The Lake is tranquil, charming, and lovely, especially during sunrise and sunset. On picturesque riverscape, the fishermen with leg-rowing style appear beautiful. For an enjoyable discovery of this highlight, try out 9 top things to do in Inle Lake.

Enjoy Sightseeing Sunset on Inle Lake

The Lake appears sincere, spectacular, and flattering for photograph all season. With 22km long, Inle Lake is quite spacious and very scenic. It’s fantastic to contemplate the attraction from its banks or via the boat trip. The more details you can discover, the deeper you fall in love with this natural gem. While some travelers appreciate the floating villages and workshops, the others feel interested in the sceneries of which the fishermen are main characters. Of course, don’t miss the majestic sunset moments!

Silhouette of fisherman at sunset Inle Lake Burma Myanmar

Get to know leg-rowing style

Inle Lake is home to the unique leg-rowing style that impresses the visitors. Make sure you don’t miss this experience. The local fishermen row by one leg and stand firmly on the boat with the other leg. With the extraordinary and skillful rowing style, the local people are happy to let you experience the how-to and record the fun moments. In fact, the image of the leg-rowing Intha fishermen is connected to the charming beauty of the Lake. It’s interesting to know that Inle Lake in Burma hosts the Leg Rower’s Running Race on the Inlay Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival (in September or October).

Burmese fisherman on bamboo boat catching fish in traditional way with handmade net

Discover Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda

Enshrining the five gold-plated Buddha statues, this pagoda is the revered and favorite venue for the Burmese people to worship. This is also the most important pagoda in the southern Shan State. With the sophisticated and mysterious interior depicting the religious festivals and gilded boats, Phaung Daw Oo impresses the pilgrims. Know that only men can apply gold leaves to the Buddha statues.

Visit the floating vegetable gardens and workshops

On the lake are some floating gardens filled with various kinds of vegetables. The floating sites are open to the tourists, so take your opportunities to explore what is inside and interact with the gardeners. Of course, the greenness makes your photography impressive. Besides, look for the weaving craft shops.

Meet the Padaung tribe with long-neck custom

Padaung is known as the long-neck lady tribe, one of the oldest tribes in Burma. The women preserve the custom of weaving the necklaces from 5 years old to keep their necks long as the sign of beauty. So, your travel to Inle Lake should include some moments to get to know this tribe. The long-neck ladies appreciate their bronze necklaces which embrace lots of meanings to them (help them to avoid human trafficking, tiger attack, etc.). That said, the adults might have 35 necklaces, and the more the better.

Daily life of Padaung (Karen) hill tribe

Join animated vibe of Mine Thauk Market

Established on the east bank of the Lake, Mine Thauk Market lets you mingle with some hill tribes and travelers worldwide. There you find lots of Burmese items for sales such as fruits, fish, souvenirs, etc. Look for the ethnic costumes and take the nice photographs of both local merchants and market atmosphere. You might love to view them later when wanting to call back the sweet memories in Inle Lake.

Stay Overnight at Floating House or Nature-friendly Resort

The Lake owns romantic settings with floating wooden houses where to enjoy the sound night. This kind of accommodation gives you desirable peace and comfort so that you fall asleep naturally. For romance, the candlelight, beautiful flower, warm color of the wall, and tranquil atmosphere encourage you to make the words of the heart.

Inle Lake in Burma, of course, goes beyond your expectation for a spectacular Lake! Rather, it’s a paradise of love, where to become a part of nature and gain happiness from the simple life.

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Traveling to Myanmar (or Burma) has long been in favor of many tourists who desire to get immersed in the enigmatic Southeast Asian country. Myanmar is beautiful and attractive for the year-round enjoyment, but it doesn’t mean that you should experience a Myanmar Tour with an empty head about the land’s weather. Of course, the tour will become highly successful and satisfactory when you know clearly best time to visit Myanmar.

Myanmar Weather Summary – Visit Myanmar with Pleasure

Though you can explore Myanmar throughout the year, know that the country features the two distinct seasons: wet and dry!

• The Wet Season Of Burma Runs From June To Early October

The peak of the wet season makes some regions of Myanmar inaccessible. For instance, Ngapali Beach is mostly full of high winds and heavy rains that strike the coast on an annual basis. You can visit the land’s centers during the rainy months but the remote areas and exposed delta are impassable because of the mud and violent storm.

The hill stations, Himalayan foothills, lakes of Myanmar will be influenced by the cold, especially at night. These high-altitude regions are much cooler than the coastal regions as well as the southern lowland.

• The Dry Season Of Burma Lasts From October To May

Due to the tropical climate, Burma has some seasonable changes straightforwardly derived from the monsoon winds. Variations in temperature are likely to happen in the early phase of each season.

The early dry months (March and April) and the early wet months (May and June) are often the hottest times of the year because the temperatures reach the astronomical highs. During such the hot time of the year, the Shan state region remains a bit cooler so it is the ideal spot to avoid the scorching heat. The plains around Bagan and Mandalay are the driest areas of Myanmar because they remain fairly dry despite much of the annual rain in the country. 

So, in a word, when are the best months to visit Burma? Let us tell you: the best months are from November to February. Nonetheless, these are also the busiest times when the safe accommodation becomes a problem. It is when the weather in Burma is typically dry and fairly cool.

That is why many seasoned tourists take the “mid-season” (the side of the peak period) is the best time to enjoy a Myanmar Holiday as the weather is very good, not too cold and not too hot at all. Meanwhile, the sites are less crowded. In that sense, October is also the ideal time to find the good balance of weather and tourism offerings.

The Eminent Festivals and Ceremonies in Myanmar

• In January, Ananda Temple Festival is held in Bagan for the religious purposes.
• February marks the celebration of Kyaik Khauk Pagoda Festival in Thanlyin, Syriam. At the same month, Maha Myat Muni Pagoda happens in Mandalay.
• When it comes to Match, Shwedagon Pagoda is celebrated in Yangon and Shwezagan Pagoda Festival is promoted in Maymyo.
• From 12^th to 17^th April (Burmese New Year), Thingyan Water Festival entertains many guests out there.
• October or November is when Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival is promoted in Inle.
• November welcomes the tourists to join and experience the Shwezigon Pagoda Festival.

Myanmar (Burma) has long been renowned for its extraordinary religious monuments, palaces, and colonial-era buildings. The notion of Myanmar Architecture has attracted many experts and tourists who hold the big interest in the new land’s architecture. Due to the renewal theme in Myanmar culture, the majority of the capital cities here have been renewed. Some of the traditional forms cannot stand the test of time. Besides, some exceptional structures are well-preserved enough to feast the visitors’ eyes and indulge their architectural tastes.

What Are The Massive Exceptions In Myanmar Architecture?

• Buddhist-related sites

The foremost gigantic exception is burmese architecture is the Buddhist temples and pagodas. The religious constructions can be traced in every corner of the country that makes Myanmar “the land of a million pagodas”. People coming to Burma undoubtedly believe that the Burmese have the deep religious traditions as well as devotion. The country itself is full of the Buddhist pagodas, temples, and monasteries that make it the ideal Buddhist pilgrimage destination in the Southeast Asia.

As an illustration, Shwedagon Pagoda is the impressive golden monument to Buddhism that exceptionally remains its traditional architecture. Meanwhile, thousands of temples on the Bagan plains look breathtaking and decent in almost every village, street, or riverbank. The Myanmar’s pagoda is the highly sacred place that requires the visitors to take off their shoes before entering, always. People can use some different terms to reflect the Burmese pagoda like zedis, stupas, or payas; but whatever term is used, they refer to the mound-like constructions used to worship and house the Buddha relics.

The Buddhist-related sites in Burma are in semi hemispheric designs that are topped with the shark peaks. They stand for the Buddhist’s alms bowls and their sticks. What’s more, the pagodas or stupas in Myanmar are gold-gilded that creates the impressively eye-catching structures from the far distance. The four most significant pagodas are Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, Mon State’s Kyaikhtiyo Paya, Mandalay’s Mahamuni Buddha Temple, and Bagan’s thousands of stupas and temples. Especially, the Burma’s oldest pagoda is Sule Zedi, the 2500-year-old Buddhist site situated in Yangon.

Monasteries are the other exceptions whose architecture is remained in Myanmar. The tourists can explore these religious sites to witness the conventional lives of the monks and nuns here via the pre-scheduled visit. Also, please don’t miss the royal palaces that pre-date the colonial era! The palaces were built from teak and gone through the violent history in Myanmar. You know can visit the reconstructed sites in Mandalay and Shwebo.

• The Colonial Buildings

Last but not least, the colonial-era building available in Myanmar will never disappoint every guest, even the most fastidious ones. You can feast the eyes with the impressive array of buildings from the colonial era in Yangon, the former capital of British-ruled Burma. These special buildings are the city’s identity.

Apart from the Buddhist-related sites, Myanmar is graced with many wonderful colonial buildings, the remnants of the government of British colonization. The two most important and famous examples of the colonial buildings are the Ministers’ Building (the spectacular edifice decorated with monumental wings) and The Strand (a Victorian-style hotel built in 1901). Both of the impressively colonial-era constructions are settled in Yangon.

Myanmar (the former name was Burma) gets along well with the neighbors as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Just several years ago, Myanmar Holidays sounded bizarre and new to many people. But recently, this Southeast Asian country grows to be the hot spot that attracts many backpackers and tourists worldwide. A good introduction about Myanmar surely helps the newcomers to discover the land’s quintessence in the full manner.

Myanmar has its origin from the Burmese Empire (1500 – 1000BC). It lies on the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea coast and is bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of the country’s entire perimeter of 1,200 miles (1,930km) establishes the uninterrupted coastline running along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Myanmar has the low population (just 51 million people recorded in 2014 Burma Census). What’s more, note that Burma has the rich mineral resources of jade, gems, oil, natural gas.

Myanmar – Behind the Modern Face Sets a Truly Wonderful Land

People agree that behind the modern tension of Myanmar, there lies a truly magical land that makes everybody fall in love with its highlights. The astonishing myriad of the ancient temples, colorful festivals, exquisite beaches, trekking landscapes, etc., available in Burma welcomes the visitors on the planet. If you ever dreamed about the endlessly wonderful and beautiful destination, Myanmar is praiseworthy enough to make the dreams true.

The fascinating land seems to offer everything that the tourists need and want, from the luxury accommodations to the religious Buddha temples, colonial-era buildings, romantic beaches, unique golden rock, medieval feels, and more. The most eminent Myanmar Destinations include Yangon, Inle Lake, Mandalay, Keng Tung, Monywa, Mrauk U, Ngwe Saung Beach, Pindaya, Pyin Oo Lwin, Kyaiktiyo, etc. The land of the Buddha statues and constructions has the contemporary international luxury surface. Behind the modern face are many wonderful sites where the historical buildings, hill tribe villages, religious caves, pristine beaches are well-preserved.

In fact, you can do various activities during a Myanmar Tour. Excitement and freedom are boundless. You enjoy trekking to the far-off land of Mrauk U, contemplating the golden rock in Kyaiktiyo, boating to Myeik Archipelago, adventuring in the most scenic hill town of Pyin Oo Twin, entering the Buddha Caves in Pindaya or just relaxing on the fresh Ngwe Saung Beach.

Know that Myanmar is till a democracy-in-progress country! There stand many ethnic minorities that live in harmony here. As the Southeast Asian jewel, Myanmar, the enigmatic country, gives you the once-in-a-lifetime traveling experience. It is a rewarding country whose charm lies on the shimmering temples, the welcoming locals, and the exquisite landscape stretching the route between Indian Ocean to the high Himalayas.

Travel in Myanmar – Is It The Right Choice?

YES, the Myanmar Tour is surely one of the best choices ever made by you. You can read a lot about Myanmar Tourism Introduction, political situations, tourism highlights, travel guides, weather, etc., to decide if the enigmatic country is right for you.

Burma undeniably is one of the world’s greatest travel destinations on earth. The tours will be highly smooth if you work with a good Myanmar tour operator who deals with the non-government hotels, airlines, or any needy company to facilitate your stay in Myanmar. We are in the positions to aid you going there if you want.

As a country of diversity and color, Myanmar welcomes the visitors worldwide. Every time you visit Burma, it will surprise you with the unique blend of history and modernity. The wonderful colonial-era buildings and ancient temples are well-preserved enough to please even the most fastidious guests. Myanmar Holidays have long been one of the most exciting options for anybody that loves enjoying a balloon ride, trekking to far-off land, entering a cave housing thousands of Buddha images, witnessing a big golden rock, getting immersed in the crystal clear seawater, etc.

Today, more and more guests feel interested in the golden beauty of Myanmar. The country is now opening up many opportunities for us to visit its highlights of tourism. Just have a glimpse of Myanmar’s major destinations like Yangon, Ngapali Beach, Golden Rock, Inle Lake, Mandalay, etc., you will eagerly fall in love with their enigmatic attractions. As Myanmar is a new land to you, it’s very smart to tour with a good guide, and we are here to support you with Myanmar Travel Guide.

Enjoy the pertinent information about Myanmar (or Burma) and the land’s essentials before you go! We address the keys of Myanmar Introduction, Best Time to Visit Myanmar, Myanmar People and Ethnology, Myanmar Architecture, Religions in Myanmar, Myanmar Festivals, and Visa to Myanmar. All of these comprehensive guides are given to assure that your travelling experiences in Myanmar are most favorable ever. Trust us, Myanmar is worth a go and you will never regret the moments you spent in such the beautiful and fascinating country. The Myanmar Tours will even go far beyond your expectations, and our Myanmar Travel Guide boosts your joy to its highest notch.

Myanmar (Burma) is rich in culture, religion, and festival. Without a doubt, the beautiful country hosts many significantly colorful festivals every year. And if you can thoughtfully experience a Myanmar Tour in the festive time, you get an extra boost of joy and fun. The major religion in Myanmar is Theravada Buddhism, so it is certain that Buddhist festivals are the keys here. Besides, the spirit festivals help support the spiritual life of the local people. Are you going to tour to Burma? The Festivals in Myanmar Guide has just been written for you.

Buddhist Festivals

The pagoda festivals are the most common kind of Burmese festival. The Buddhism-related event is to show respect to the Buddha via offering, prayer, traditional singing, dancing, and colorful markets. The Buddhist Festivals run from month to month. Here, the tourists can find many Myanmar costume, household utensils, medicinal herbs, foods, etc. There is a series of Buddhist festivals throughout the country.

• In December/January, Ananda Pagoda Festival is held in Bagan that is one of the largest and longest festivals of the year.
• In January/February, Mahamuni Pagoda Festival is celebrated in Mandalay. At the same time, the Golden Hilltop Festival is also promoted in Thanlyin.
• March/April marks the celebration of Shwemawdaw Pagoda Festival in Bargo.
• Early May is the time for Kason Festival that stands for the day the Buddha attained Enlightenment.
• June welcomes the tourists to join the Chinlon Festival in Mandalay.

Nat or Spirit Festivals

The Spirit Festival is when people show their homage to the animist spirits and meet the spiritual mediums for life advice.

Taungbyone Nat Festival in July/August held in Taungbyone close to Mandalay is the most eminent Nat Festival of the land. It is when the spirit mediums (nat kadaw) gather from all corners of Myanmar to do dancing performance and transfer advice from the spirit world to the living. In this spirit festival, King Anawrahta is the powerful spirit that must be placated by the followers with offerings. There is a tragic story behind the unjust death of the king, and the tourists can listen to it during the festive time.

Lunar New Year Festivals

Before the Myanmar New Year, the Lunar New Yes festivals are celebrated to boost the locals’ religious and cultural health.

Thingyan Water Festival is the most famous festival; it is a four-day celebration to welcome the Lunar New Year when people splash water on the others to pray for good luck and happiness. The first day of the festival often falls in the mid-April. During the festive length, the participants can expect to witness the Eight Percepts of Buddhism that teaches humankind avoid the morally ill behavior to pursue the ascetic life. It is also the time to make merit. The older villagers mostly go to the temples for prayers as well as alms giving.

Besides the three major groups of Burmese festivals, the beautiful country also hosts many other interesting festivals celebrated in the regional contexts. For instance, October marks the festivities of Thadingyut Festival (Festival of Lights), Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda Festival in the Shan state, and Elephant Dance Festival in Mandalay. 

Joyfully experience the remarkable festivals in Myanmar soon!

Myanmar (or Burma) is a diverse country in regards to its ethnicities. The Burmese government has recognized 135 distinct ethnic groups officially. Such the groups are further divided into the eight “major national ethnic races”. We list them out for your references: Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Bamar, Rakhine, and Shan. Reading about Myanmar People and Ethnology will never be the redundant step before you explore this ethnically diverse nation. Therefore, let’s together dig for information about this engaging topic today.

A Small Talk about the Major National Ethnic Races in Myanmar

The eight main national ethnic races are grouped predominantly based on the regions, but not the ethnic affiliation or linguistic.

For instance, the Shan race covers 33 ethnic groups whose languages are different in at least four ways. Nonetheless, the majority of the ethnic Shan live in the Shan State, and the smaller communities of this ethnic race can also be traced in the Kachin state to the north. Most of the Shan group practices Theravada Buddhists. Please note that the Shan is the Myanmar’s largest minority with the estimated population of 3-4 million! Within the Shan State, there stand several other minorities such as Kokang, Palaung, Pao, Lahu, and Wa.

So, if you ask “Who are the Burma’s minorities?” our answer will point out the facts about Burma’s history regarding the Myanmar people and ethnology. With over 100 ethnic groups, Myanmar has the richest ethnic diversity in the Asian regions. The diversity has long been attributed by the country’s geographic locations that link with other neighboring powers like India, China, and Thailand. The cross-border migration and cultural mix has created the growth of ethnic communities in both mountainous frontier spaces and the lowland plains.

Though there are 135 “national races” officially recognized by the Burmese government, the reliable census data is still in vain. The races of Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Bamar, Rakhine, and Shan are recognized because these minority groups did negotiate the state boundaries with the government in the past. Nevertheless, the groups themselves in the certain states are not ethnically homogenous.

With a population of 56 million, the local Burmese constitutes about two-thirds. Meanwhile, the Shan is the largest minority constituting 9 percent. About the rest of ethnicities like Mon, Rakhine, Chin, Kayan, Chinese, Indian, Palaung, etc., each constitutes around 5 percent or less of the population. See long-neck woman in Myanmar!

The Local People in Myanmar

The tourists will surely remember the moments they spent talking and seeking help from the Myanmar’s local people during an exciting Myanmar Tour. Over a hundred ethnic groups are living in some distinct part of the country, but know that the mainland seems to exclude the presence of the ethnic tribes.

They just come to attend the morning market to sell their products and buy some necessary things. Then, they leave the mainland and return to some hidden areas. That makes Myanmar the diverse land of ethnology because no one can exactly measure the number of ethnicities throughout the country. There stand several unrecognized ethnics who prefer residing in the far-off regions. The Myanmar exotic people and their special traditions shower Burma with lots of valuable traits for the newcomers to study and experience. The successful tours are always done in the harmonious land.

An objective guide to Religions in Myanmar emphasizes the fact that Myanmar (Burma) is a multi-religious nation. The country covers no official religion for the state, but the Burmese government is likely to take the Theravada Buddhism for the main religion that is practiced by 89% of the population. The Shan, Mon, Bamar, Rakhine, and Chinese mainly follow the Theravada Buddhism.

Besides, there stand some spaces for the other Religions in Myanmar like Hinduism, Christianity, Muslims, and Hindus. The freedom of religion is provided in Burma that helps the religion diversity become one of the highlights of the peaceful land. In Burmese history, the religions appear very early, so they make the strong impact on the Burmese’s spiritual belief. Get a guide about Burmese religions so that your Myanmar Tours become smoothest ever.

Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism first appeared and was widely promoted in Bagan, the Burmese old capital from the 11^th century. From then on, the Buddhism has held the pivotal role in the Burmese’s spiritual life, art, society, architecture, etc. More and more Buddhist temples or wats were constructed in every destination of the country like Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Mrauk U, Mawlamyine, Nyaung U, etc. Today, the majority of the Burmese are Buddhists, and the Buddhism is ranked the national religion. Buddhism is done in conjunction with spirit worship; the spirits can interfere in the worldly issues.

The Theravada tradition is practiced by 89% of the national population. It is the major religion because that the proportion of the monks in the country’s population is dominant. Meanwhile, the percentage of income spent on Buddhism is also largest. In reality, the famous Buddhist pagodas in Myanmar such as Shwedagon Pagoda, Sule Pagoda, Ananda Temple, Kuthodaw Temple, Shitthaung Temple, etc., are open to the tourists worldwide. They are the main tourism attractions in Burma that enrich the tourists’ architectural tastes and religious senses.

Christianity

Constituting about 4% of the Burmese population, the Christianity was initiated in Myanmar from the 18^th century and grown until now. There are two arms of Christians here: Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. About four-fifths of the nation’s Christians are Protestants; the Roman Catholics make up the rest.

Muslims

The Muslims practitioners also constitute 4% of Myanmar’s population according to the government census. The Muslims are mainly practiced by the Sunni groups who have strong faith in the Sunni set. The minor religion is followed by a small portion of ethnic minorities of the Indo-Burmese, Indians, and Chinese.

Hinduism

The religion is promoted predominantly by Burmese Indians. The Hinduism followers account for 2% of the Burma’s population. This minor religion was said to arrive in Myanmar during the ancient times. Know that the “Burma” or “Myanmar” names’ origin was in Hinduism. “Burma” is the British colonial official’s phonetic alike to the first half of Brahma Desha. Brahma is a deity with four heads, the part of Hindu trinity. Meanwhile, Myanmar is derived from the regional language transliteration of Brahma (b and m are interchangeable).

After all, the individual’s freedom and religious peace are the major purposes of all of these religions in Myanmar. They help stabilize the nation’s spiritual life and develop the whole country in a peaceful manner.