Myanmar (Birmanie) : activités et visites

Myanmar stretches from Himalayan foothills in the north to a long coast on the Andaman Sea. Yangon, the largest city, is dominated by the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, with a downtown of colonial buildings and two large lakes, Inya and Kandawgyi. Mandalay, further north on the Irrawaddy, was the last royal capital, with its palace walls and Mandalay Hill.

Nyaung U, beside the Irrawaddy, is the town nearest to Bagan, an ancient plain strewn with thousands of brick temples and pagodas. In the Shan hills, Kalaw is a cool former hill station with trekking paths, and Nyaungshwe is the gateway to Inle Lake, where fishermen row standing on one leg and gardens float on the water. Near Mandalay, the long teak U Bein Bridge crosses a lake at Amarapura.

Mohinga, a fish noodle soup eaten at breakfast, is the national dish, and laphet thoke, a salad of fermented tea leaves with nuts and crisp beans, is another favourite. Tea shops are social centres. The cooler months from November to February are the pleasantest, April brings the water festival of the new year, and the monsoon arrives in June.