Southern Shan State

Tourist Attractions

Inle Lake

This vast picture lake, 900 meters above sea-level, is one of the main tourist attractions in Myanmar. The lake, 22 km long and 10 km cross, has a population of some 150,000, many of whom live on floating islands of vegetation. Inlay lake, natural and unpolluted, is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique leg-rowing of the Inthas, the native lake dwellers.

Ywama
The largest village on the Inlay lake, its streets are a web of canals. There are some beautiful teak houses built on large wooden poles driven into the lake bed. The main activity and attraction is at the floating market.

Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda
One of the famous principle shrines in Myanmar, this pagoda houses five small Buddha images. Once a year, in end September or early October, there is a pagoda festival during which the four Buddha images are rowed around the lake in a colorful barge.

Mine Thauk Market
A large and busting market where one can find a real local atmosphere with a variety of produce from the lake.

Ngaphe Chaung Monastery (Jumping Cat Monastery)
A wooden monastery on stilts over the lake, built four years before Mandalay Palace. The monks trained their cats to leap through small hoops. It is worth to visit for modest collection of Buddha images in Shan, Tibetan, Bagan and Innwa styles.

Indein
Indein is one of the small villages of Inle lake located on the western bank of the lake. A Buddha image has enshrined at a whitewashed stupa, which is on the summit of a hill. Below the stupa around the hill are cluster of hundreds of ancient stupas most are ruins overgrown with bushes. The pagoda hill is quiet and calm. One could feel the pleasant cool breeze with the sweet rings of the bells hanging at the umbrella of the stupa. Mesmerizing views from pagoda hill release the fatigue and refresh everybody who ascend to the peak. This mysterious place is at the end of the marvelous Indein creek, which connected with Inle lake just after the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. The creek is narrow with many twist and turns. Since the both sides are paddy fields you can see the farmers ploughing and harrowing by water buffaloes. At the lunch time while groups of farmers dam up the water by bamboo barriers to irrigate the paddy fields. Indein water is not only useful for irrigation also for bathing and washing cloths. It is compulsory to see Novice monks, buffalo boys and village girls wash and swim in the creek.

Around Inle lake

Taunggyi

Taunggyi, over 1430 meters above sea-level, is the capital of Shan State. It is a hill station, cool and pleasant all the year round. The market, on every fifth day, is crowded with ethnic minorities in their traditional dresses. The journey from Taunggyi down to Inle lake area takes about an hour.

Kalaw

Kalaw, another hill station, is 1400 meters above sea-level. Many of the Tudor-style houses and English gardens of colonial days remain. It is located 70 km west of Taunggyi.

Pindaya Caves

About 45km drive from Kalaw is Pindaya, well known for its extensive limestone caves. The caves are set deep in the hillsides and there stands at the entrance, a 15 meter high Shwe U Min Pagoda. There are some 6000 Buddha images and interesting stalagmites.

Kakku

Kakku is about 33 miles from Taunggyi. It will take about 3 hours drive by car. Kakku is in the territory of Pa-Oh people. There are over 2000 stupas packed closely together in ranks and covering an area perhaps a square kilometer. The main stupa is around 40 meters high, the mass of the spire surrounding it uniformly. But each one is an individual masterpiece. The particular remarkable about the whole site is its good state of preservation. Originally each one must have been topped by a gilded metal hit, the multi tiered umbrella-like feature, which is typical of Myanmar Pagodas. Many of these are tilted on fallen. External rendering of mortar and stucco has crumbled away on others, exposing the brick core while trees have established themselves in a few, threatening to split them apart. But so much of the originals still exist that this site must be free of the destructive force of earthquakes, which have periodically ravaged many of the Myanmar's other monuments.