Myanmar tourism is a recent trend for many tourists of many countries. With lush landscapes and exciting explorations, Inle Lake is a good choice when visiting this temple country. Inle Lake has been selected as one of the five new destinations in Asia by Condé Nast Traveler. Considered as a tourist paradise in Myanmar, Inle Lake is capable of capturing those who are passionate about photography. The following article will give you interesting suggestions about activities and places to visit in Inle.
Inle (or Inlay) in Myanmar means a large lake, located at the center of Shan State, about 40 km south of Taung-kyi City, Shan State Capital. Inle is a fresh water lake, which is about 600 km from Yangon. It is one of the two largest freshwater lakes in Myanmar with the main inhabitants living on the lake. The lake is surrounded by high mountains. Geographically located high, the weather here is extremely cool, helping Inle really become a true tourist paradise. There is a difference between the water in dry season and rainy season.
The only way you can fully understand the beauty and culture of the people living in the lake is to use the motor boat service. Boasting a streamlined design, these boats are easy to sail on narrow lanes in floating villages or crawl over the mud when canals dry up in the dry season. Let’s have look the list of things to do and places to visit in Inle.

1) Experience the boat ride on the Inle Lake
The first thing you should consider the places to visit in Inle, Boating on Inle Lake is an experience any visitor should try. The Inle Lake will give visitors the feeling of peace when sailing on the river watching charming lake and mountains. In front of you will be a clear blue mountain and lake. The leisurely sailing experience will make you feel more peaceful than ever. With the extremely fresh and cool air, all anxiety and sadness is dispelled. This is definitely a great experience for those who want to find a quiet place to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.
Coming to the lake, you will feel your soul quiet when admiring the village painting which is very peaceful. The best time to explore the lake is in the morning, when the sun is not too bright.
The ideal way to discover the Inle Lake is to rent a boat and go down the water to explore the lake from early morning to late afternoon. Boat rentals are available at the hotel. This is one of the main sources of income for the town of Nyaung Shwe and the government of Myanmar.

2) Visit the Ywama floating market

A very interesting option is to visit the floating market place right on the lake, the market usually meetings every 5 days and the focus is usually not fixed. Especially, the Ywama Floating Market is also a chance to consider buying and exploring indigenous culture.
Buying in the floating market has created a unique culture. When you arrive at this place, you will see the floating market on the river is one of the most beautiful and impressive pictures. Sellers place the pole in front of their boat and hang the symbol of the items that they are selling. The attraction of floating market for tourists is to preserve, promote the characteristics of the river and the freshness of goods here. Not only preserve the cultural beauty of the river, the Ywama Floating Market today as an attractive tourist attraction, especially foreigners loving to explore and experience.

3) Discover Indein village and Shwe Inn Thein temple
One of the interesting places to visit in Inle is Indein village. Indein is the old imperial city of ancient architecture with brick built in the 11th century, former capital of Shan. Visiting the village of Indein in Myanmar, you will admire the famous Shwe Inn Thein temple with 1,000 ancient old towers built with unique architecture. The Shwe Inn Thein temple is located in the midst of a dense forest in Myanmar, the sun shining through the fog envelops the ancient towers that make the scenery here mysterious and fascinating visitors. The site includes 1,000 ancient towers, containing the remains of Buddhist monks. Near ancient ruins, local people live in makeshift wooden houses and thatched roofs. Some of the towers were built very early in the 14th century, most of which were built in the 17th and 18th centuries.

4) Enjoy delicious delicacies on the Inle Lake
The people of Inthar are now living on the lake. They built houses and buildings on the lake. Inthar has been living on the surface of the Great Lakes, they are now even planting on the water. The great idea of the Inthar people is that they cultivate the plants on the water by making floating rafts from the drooping carvings and mosses and fix them with bamboo trees.
On the Inle Lake, the Inthar created the gardens by collecting duckweed and moss and fixing them by bamboo plugged into the lake. The specialty here is the vegetables grown in the garden on the lake. You should come to a riverside restaurant, call yourself a plate of sweet and sour fish with vegetables and specialties to feel the freshness of the fish caught on the lake with sweet and sour tomatoes and fresh vegetables.
The most common plant of the Inthar are tomatoes, tomatoes grown on the Inle Lake are a specialty of this place. Lake prawns are the main source of nutrients to feed the vegetables. There is no use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, so vegetables are small but sweet and natural. Besides the vegetables, visitors also enjoy the seafood fished in the lake. Typical dishes of the traditional Inthar are green salad dressing with garlic vinegar, fried vegetable fried, grilled shrimp and sticky rice. You can explore the culinary elite here at the restaurant on the lake. The price here is pleasant and affordable.

5) Visit the traditional village
The Inle Lake has 17 ancient villages with distinctive traditional crafts like silver, paper craft, tobacco, weaving village. Each village is a piece of painting that contributes to the colorful life of Inle Lake people.
There is a village along the lake that is called the “Lotus” weaving village, which is woven in lotus, this is the most unique point of this village. Non-woven fabrics of silk or cotton yarn, which they use for yarn, are obtained from the lotus plants. All the steps are conducted by hand. Therefore, the price of these products is high.
If the Lotus weaving village makes lady lovers, perhaps the traditional cigarette village attracts gentlemen more. You can try long cigarettes wrapped in wild, highland leaves flavored with cinnamon, licorice or honey.

6) Ride on the Red Mountain

In addition to the famous Inle Lake, the small and peaceful town of Nyaungshwe also has an interesting place to visit, the Red Mountains Ranch, which specializes in grape growing and winemaking. You can rent a bike or a tuktuk and only take about 30 minutes to climb this hill. Here visitors are free to visit the winery, vineyard or try wine … From the top of the hill, in the cool and fresh air, you can see the whole town. The farm also has a restaurant that serves food and pastries.
Lower temperatures than other tropical regions allow them to produce wines with finer fragrances. There are about 400,000 grape types imported from France, Spain and Israel. It will be an enjoyable experience to taste wine while see their staff make wine.

7) Explore Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung Monastery

Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung is built almost entirely of wood combined with cement-style stairs on stilts. The small monastery, located on the road from Pindaya cave to Inle Lake, consists of two buildings, one of which is the main hall for monks to study and live, and one where monks sleep and eat.
The monastery facade has two oval windows in the center and four other windows divided on two sides, the bottom is the wooden floor pillars on the cement floor. Not decorated sophisticatedly as other temples and monasteries, Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung monastery attracts visitors by the rustic and old-fashioned color of time. Young monks do not talk much with tourists but are very friendly. If you have enough time, then you should visit Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung monastery. You will definitely be impressed by this place.

8) Admire the glorious sunset
Twilight is a natural phenomenon that takes place every day, but each time is witnessed, we still cannot be overwhelmed by the charm when the scene is bright before sunk into the dark. If you have explored all the attractions of Inle Lake, you cannot miss the spectacular sunset. An orange glow from the sky gradually diminished, brightening a corner of the sky, the scene becomes sparkling fanciful, drowning in front of this peaceful and romantic space. Bring some food with the music, enjoy those brilliant moments with your friends is always an unforgettable memory. As the sun goes down, the water becomes a giant mirror reflecting the silver sky.

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