Being one of Burma-Myanmar's most famous natural landscapes, travelers who visit Inle Lake will find the region to be rich with culture and Burmese heritage.
The lake itself is a very narrow waterway nestled between the hills of the Shan Plateau. With many nutrients naturally sliding into its waters, the lake supports an incredible variety of life. The pale purple-pink flowers of the floating water hyacinth are a highlight of the lake's flora and one of the region's agricultural industry's main supports.
The Intha have adapted their agricultural methods to maximally utilize the lake's fertility by planting unique water-grown gardens, which are created by floating beds of the water hyacinth, marsh vegetation and soils and anchored to the lake's shallow floor by way of bamboo rods. Travelers can purchase some of the unique local produce and other local handmade goods at the lake's early-morning markets.
The lake is also home to several endemic species of snails and fish that aren't found anywhere else on the globe. To catch a glimpse of the unique wildlife, travelers may want to adopt the Intha's one-legged rowing technique, in which one leg is wrapped around the paddle while the other leg stands firmly on the raft or boat.
Harvest water-grown fruits at Inle Lake
Posted on Friday, March 30th, 2012
