Places to visit in Inle Lake

The monastery is supported by 654 teak pillars and is also known as Jumping Cat Monastery. This is because the resident monks in the monastery train their cats in such a manner that they are able to leap through the hoops.

This is the most remote outpost of Burma and is located at the centre of the Golden Triangle. It is a beautiful town of Shan and is worth a visit to take a closer look at the daily livelihoods of several conventional tribes of the country like Khun, Ang, Laui, Wa, Lishu, Pao etc.

Surrounded by the Hill tribe villages, this area is located around 1200 m above the sea level. The main attraction of Pindaya is the lime stone cave that is completely natural. It branches out naturally to different areas and has in display around 8000 images of Buddha in different materials like Marble, Lacquer, stone, wood, bronze, brick and even stones. Most Buddhist pilgrims visiting this place from all over the world have placed these statues and images over several years. The collection is well worth a look and boasts of a unique setting.

This is a popular hill station in the Shan district. It is mainly a trekking destination with lots of pine forest hills, beautiful gardens and great food stops.

This is the administrative capital of the state of Shan. It is a smart and vibrant town with a huge market. Taste the regional cuisine here and enjoy the village life for a day.

The floating garden is located in the North of Nampan. This is the place where the Intha farmers grow different types of vegetables and fruits, squash, flowers and tomatoes on long wooden trellises with the floating mats for the vegetation purpose. The farmers paddle up and down in between the rows in the mornings and the afternoons for tending to their crops.

This museum is home to the usual display of the outfits of the local ethnic groups along with a wide display of weapons, jewelleries and musical instruments. Only a handful of them however, are available with an explanation in English.

This museum is in its shambles at the moment. However it was the former palace of the last Shan Sao Pha. He was also the first president of the independent country of Burma. At present, the building is almost empty and there are only a few displays of the history and the culture of the Shan.

The surrounding sceneries of the lake, looks dramatic and you must make it a point to go cycling around the lake for exploring the sceneries of the lake. For instance, the half day ride from Nyaungshwe to Maing Thauk is particularly scenic and there is also a forest monastery from where you can check out the stunning and the most amazing views of the rural countryside and the lake.

This is a unique type of a temple complex that is home to more than 2000 stupas that lie hidden in the heartland of Pa O.

This is a pagoda with hundreds of ancient stupas within the premises and is worth exploring.

This is a notable Buddhist site in Burma. The pagoda is home to five small images of Buddha from the 12th century which are covered in Gold leaves in such a manner that the original forms of the Buddha cannot be seen from outside. The gold leaf covering is however much recent as an addition and the images that are on the walls of the pagoda look more pristine. It is also worth being a part of the 19 days festival at the pagoda that is held each year during the month of October at the end of the Buddhist lent.