Experience the best of Nyaungshwe

Nyaungshwe sits at the northern end of Inle Lake in the Shan Hills of eastern Myanmar, at around 880 metres, where a canal runs from the lake into town. From its jetty, long wooden boats carry visitors across the lake past the leg-rowing fishermen of the Intha people, floating gardens where tomatoes grow on beds of lake weed, and villages on stilts. In town, Shwe Yan Pyay monastery is known for its oval windows.

Around the lake, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda holds five small Buddha images covered in so much gold leaf that they are shapeless, and Indein has a forest of crumbling stupas on a hillside above the water. Hot springs, vineyards producing Shan State wine and tea plantations are in the hills nearby. Taunggyi, the state capital, lies to the north-west, and the trekking town of Kalaw is a few hours to the west.

Shan food is lighter than central Burmese cooking: Shan noodles in a clear broth, tofu made from chickpea flour, and htamin jin, an Inle rice salad made with tomato and fermented fish. Visitors find the lake easiest in the cool, dry months of November to February, while March to May is hot and the rains from June to October bring clouds and heavy showers.