Inle Lake: Floating Gardens, Leg-Rowers & Stilt Villages

The Serene Mountain Waterway

Nestled in a peaceful valley in the Shan Hills at 880 meters elevation, Inle Lake is a breathtaking freshwater lake surrounded by rolling limestone ridges. The lake is home to the indigenous Intha people, who have engineered an entire civilization above water, living in teak stilt houses and cultivating extensive floating vegetable gardens anchored to the lakebed with long bamboo poles.

The Legendary One-Legged Fishermen

Inle's fishermen are internationally celebrated for their unique rowing technique: balancing gracefully on one leg at the stern of narrow wooden canoes while wrapping their other leg around the oar. This leaves both hands free to handle large conical woven bamboo fish traps (khe) through weed-choked waters.

Key Highlights on the Lake

• Floating Gardens: Mats of interwoven lake weeds and reeds topped with rich lake mud that produce tonnes of sweet tomatoes and vegetables year-round.
• Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda: The lake's holiest shrine containing five ancient Buddha statues so smothered in gold leaf by male pilgrims that they resemble solid gold spheres.
• Indein Ancient Stupa Forest: Located up a scenic winding creek, this atmospheric complex contains over 1,000 crumbling 14th-century brick stupas overgrown with wild vegetation.
• Lotus Silk Weaving: Visit Inpawkhon village to see artisans extract fine fibres from lotus stems to weave rare, sacred lotus-silk robes.

Frequently Asked Questions