Inle Lake is 22 km long, 11km wide, 1328 meters above sea level and outrageously picturesque it has dead calm waters dotted with patches of floating vegetation and busy fishing canoes.High hill rim the lake on both side the Lake Shore and lake islands bear 17 villages on still mostly inhabited by the Intha people.Inle Lake , natural and unpolluted, is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique leg rowing of the Intha, the native lake-dwellers.Moreover, floating villages, colorful daily floating market and Inlay Spa are places worthy of visit.The festival of Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda in Inlay Lake held during October is full of pageantry and colorful splendor.
The Entire lake area is contained in the township of Nyaungshwe and supports a population of 140,000 that consists of Intha, Shan, Taungthu, Taungyo, Pa O, Danu, Kayah, Danaw and Burmese people.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest site in the southern area of the Shan state. This pagoda houses five small Budd ha images, which are much revered by the lake-dwellers.Once a year, in late September - early October, there is
a pagoda festival during which, four of the five Buddha images tour around the lake in a colorful .
Mine Thauk Market
A large and bustling market where you can find a real local atmosphere with a variety of produce from the lake.
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 piles driven into the lakebed. The main activity and attraction center at the floating market in the
largest canal.festival during which, four of the five Buddha images tour around the lake in a colorful.
Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery
An old wooden building where the monks have trained their cats to show jump (it is known locally as jumping cat monastery).
Floating Garden
Which are built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud, dredged from the lake bed, which breaks down into a rich humus, it take 50 years to produce a layer 1m thick.The floating allotments are anchored are anchored to the
bottom with bamboo poles.Land is also reclaimed in this way and parts of the lake have been reduced to a maze of canals around these plots. Most of the produce grown on the lake gardens is vegetables mainly tomatoes and beans and the codia leaf, which is used to roll tobacco and make cheroots.As well as being accomplished fishermen and market gardens, the Intha are talented metal workers carpenters and weavers.
Shan Palace
Beautifully carved and constructed to teak.There is very little left of the interior, however.It is under the supervision of the ministry of culture but is more like a performance art piece on the fate of aristocracy in Myanmar than a maintained museum.
AROUND INLE REGION
Taunggyi
Situated at 1430 meters, the pine clad hill station of Taunggyi provides a cool break from the heat of the plain.The town was once a place of black of respite for perspiring Brits, although all the remains of the colonial era are an over gro-
wn graveyard a stone church a line of cheery trees and a handful of timbered cottages, all on the fringes of town.In Taunggyi will see Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu temples, mosques and churches.A hill station known for its scenic beauty, Taunggyi is 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 Inlay Lake area takes about an hour.
The views of Taunggyi are good and the walk is nice.
Taunggyi Museum
It contains a small but good collection of tribal costumes, weapons and artifacts as well as a collection of antique opium weight and musical instruments.
Kakku Pagoda
Magnificent collection of Buddhist Stupas unheard of by historians and unlisted in guidebooks lies in the deepest Pa-oh territory, 26 miles south of Taunggyi the capital of Shan State.There have more than 2000 stupas in a site closely
packed together in ranks covering an area of approximately a square kilometer apparently unknown to outside world.Kakku area is covered and scattered by Pa-oh villages especially stretching along on both sides of the main road from north to south.
The land route for tour groups starting from Taunggyi is possible and accessible for all year round.But tours originated from Inle Lake are considered to be possible only in the open season from late October to early May or before heavy rain falls.The yearly religious festival normally takes about one week. The climax of this festival usually falls on full moon of the Tabaung (Mid-March) every year.The Kakku pagodas festival also draws thousand s of visitors from all parts of the Shan State.
Pindaya
Pindaya is a small, charming town, centered round lake, called Nattamiekekan or angels lake, which looks rather like an Indians tank, with steps leading down into the murky water.Pindaya itself is a center for the Burmese speaking Taungyo people.Local handicrafts include Shan paper made from mulberry bark and parasols made from the same paper.
Kalaw
The main attraction of Kalaw are the town itself, with its mock Tudor colonial bungalows, its ethnic mix of people and it is setting within trekking distance of many ethnic minority villages.The small population is peculiar mix of Shan,
Palaung, Burmese, Indian and Nepali people (Gurkhas retired from British military service).At an altitude 1320 meters it's also pleasantly cool and a good place for hiking amid gnarled pines, bamboo groves and rugged mountain scenery.
Inle Lake is 22 km long, 11km wide, 1328 meters above sea level and outrageously picturesque it has dead calm waters dotted with patches of floating vegetation and busy fishing canoes.High hill rim the lake on both side the Lake Shore and lake islands bear 17 villages on still mostly inhabited by the Intha people.Inle Lake , natural and unpolluted, is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique leg rowing of the Intha, the native lake-dwellers.Moreover, floating villages, colorful daily floating market and Inlay Spa are places worthy of visit.The festival of Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda in Inlay Lake held during October is full of pageantry and colorful splendor. 
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda 
A large and bustling market where you can find a real local atmosphere with a variety of produce from the lake. 
An old wooden building where the monks have trained their cats to show jump (it is known locally as jumping cat monastery). 
Beautifully carved and constructed to teak.There is very little left of the interior, however.It is under the supervision of the ministry of culture but is more like a performance art piece on the fate of aristocracy in Myanmar than a maintained museum. 
Pindaya is a small, charming town, centered round lake, called Nattamiekekan or angels lake, which looks rather like an Indians tank, with steps leading down into the murky water.Pindaya itself is a center for the Burmese speaking Taungyo people.Local handicrafts include Shan paper made from mulberry bark and parasols made from the same paper. 
