Inlay Lake is located in the heart of the Shan Plateau. It is a beautiful highland lake, 900 meters above sea level. The lake is 22km long and 10km across, and inhabited by many different ethnic nationals of the area. The Intha are the Lake dwellers who are unique for their leg rowing. Leg rowed traditional boats are the main ceremonial attractions of the Inlay Lake.
Inlay Lake Wildlife Sanctuary is a wetland sanctuary and located in Nyaung Shwe, Pinlaung and Peh Kon Townships of Southern Shan State. It covers an area of 642.32 square miles (1663.51km2) and was established in 1985. This sanctuary is to conserve and protect natural vegetation, wetland birds and fresh water fishes in Inlay Sanctuary.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda
One of the famous principal shrines in Myanmar, this pagoda houses five small Buddha images. Enshrined within the huge tiered pagoda are five ancient Buddha images that have been transformed into amorphous blobs by the sheer volume of gold leaf applied by devotees.
During the annual Phaung Daw Oo festival, the images are paraded around the lake in an ornate barge shaped like a Hintha (The golden Swan of Burmese legend). Local families often bring their children here as part of the ordination rites for the sangha (Buddhist brotherhood) - a fascinating spectacle if you happen to be there at the right time.
Inddein Pagoda
One of the small villages of Inlay 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 view from pagoda hill release the fatigue and refresh everybody who ascend to the peak.
This mysterious place is at the end of the marvellous Indein creek, which connected with Inlay 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 many places in the creek the 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.
Floating Garden
Another place should be visited is floating gardens. Intha farmers grow flowers, tomatoes, squash and other fruit and vegetables on long wooden trellises sipported on floating mats of vegetation : floating gardens.
Nga Hpe Kyaung ( Jumping cat Monastery)
On the western side of the lake, Nga Hpe Kyaung monastery was renow-ned for its jumping cats in the past.
This is an attractive wooden monastery built on stilts over the lake at the end of the 1850s. Aside from its collection of Buddhas the monastery may be of interest to visit because its monks have taught a few of the many cats living with them to jump through hoops. But that monk passed away in 2015. So the new generation of cats here prefers to slumber than jumping.
A better reason to visit the pagoda is to see the collection of ancient buddha images. Constructed four years before Mandalay Palace, the huge wooden meditation hall has statues in the Shan, Tibetan, Bagan and Inwa (Ava) styles displayed on ornate wood and mosaic pedestals.
Nearby Attractions
- Khaung Daing
- Samkar
- Kakku
- Pindaya
- Htan San
- Taunggyi
- Red Mountain Estage
- Myanmar Vineyard
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