Day Hike in Inle Lake

Inle Lake is one of the most scenic places in Myanmar and those that have been would beg to differ. The lake tour is the highlight of your trip here and probably the main reason why anyone would come visit. The lake tour can be done in either half or a full day so, anything else longer would just seem unreasonable. With 2 days left to spare, I decided to do a day hike. A day hike in Inle Lake is one of best things you can do here. Not only do you get off the beaten path, but you can get an authentic feel for life in Myanmar.

Setting up the hike was fairly simple. I just told the hotel staff I wanted to do a hike to see some of the rural areas. Within an hour, a young man in his early 20’s arrived at my hotel and introduced himself as my tour guide for the day.

We depart from our hotel and he grabs some fruit and bottled water from a local store as we begin our hike. I was impressed by his grasp of English, solid knowledge of Buddhism, politics, and the economy.

A Day Hike in Inle

The scenery along the way was incredible; I couldn’t really find many words to describe it. It was surreal just how vibrant and vast the space was. Our first stop was Htat Eian Caves, a Buddhist monastery. Although the inside of the cave smelt like poop, it was a pleasant experience to see where monks meditate.

We continued forward after the caves and along the way I met a local woman who took an interest in me, she spoke to me but I could not comprehend. I looked towards my tour guide for translation and he told me the woman said I resemble President Obama. We both share a laugh and move on.

My guide and I continued into the lush green field and hiked a few more kilometers until lunch-time. We passed by more villages and a few schools along the way.

For lunch we stopped by a local house and had some Burmese style noodles with a variety of fruit and some tea. The food was delicious and there was more than enough to go around.

After lunch we walked until we reached the Red Mountain Estate Vineyards. For just 2000 kyat, you can sample four different types of wine. From the winery, you can oversee the vineyards, which make for a relaxing place to chill and end the day.

My tour guide didn’t drink leaving me to sample all four glasses. The trek back to my hotel wasn’t the most pleasant as wine makes me sleepy. Somehow, I made it back and immediately took a nap when I arrived back at my hotel.