Hike Kalaw – Inle (Myanmar)

From mesmerizing Bagan we flew to Heho which is the closest airport to the largest lake of Myanmar, Inle Lake. It was literally so refreshing to arrive here! The scorching heat of the plains of Bagan was replaced by a pleasant and bearable 25° C, with plenty of freshness offered by the abundant nature. We drove to Kalaw which is a little town in the hills not far from Inle Lake, where we spent the night in an ancient colonial hotel reminding of the splendor the British brought to their colonies.

The next morning we embarked on a 2-day hike through local villages, fields and forests to reach the lake by foot. It was so nice to see the rural Myanmar from up close and observe the local farmers at work. We passed through sesame, tomato, chilly, ginger and cornfields just to name a few and learned about the hidden virtues of some fruits and plants. To Camille’s delight, we also made an acquaintance with leaches and thousands of spiders hanging in what looks like spiderweb curtains along some trails.

After a strenuous 7 hour walk, we stopped in a remote little village with a handful of houses that offer food (and beer!) and a mat on the floor for passing travelers spending the night. We had an amazing evening with fellow American, Swiss, Dutch, Canadian and Philippino travelers, with whom we had to share the floor at night 🙂 Back to basics but what an experience! It reminded us of our nights in the amazon jungle in Peru, minus the mosquitos.

On the second day we caught a first glimpse of massive Inle lake, our final destination. We arrived there in the early afternoon where a boat picked us up to drop us to our hotel on the lake, an oasis of goodness – see more in the next post!

Our favourites:

• Ever Smile tour and travels: great company to book the tour with!