The hook
A calm highland lake where fishermen row standing on one leg, wrapping the other around the oar, and whole villages of stilt houses and floating vegetable gardens sit out on the water.
01Why it's worth it
Inle is a large, shallow lake in the Shan hills, and the Intha people who live on and around it have adapted to a life almost entirely on the water. Their fishermen have a famous technique of rowing with one leg wrapped around the oar so their hands are free for the conical net, a genuinely practical skill now also performed for boats of visitors. Villages of teak stilt houses stand out in the lake, linked by canals, and farmers grow tomatoes and flowers on long floating beds of matted weeds anchored to the bottom. Boat trips visit workshops, markets that rotate between villages, and lakeside monasteries and stupas, with the Shan hills as a backdrop. As with everywhere in Myanmar, the country's conflict and the ethics of visiting under military rule since 2021 must be weighed before any trip.
02How to experience it
Consider the current situation and ethics of travel first, as with all of Myanmar. If you go, hire a longtail boat for a day among the stilt villages, floating gardens, and workshops, and try to see the leg-rowers fishing for real rather than only posing. Spread your spending among local families.