Meet the People.

   Mandalay
Mandalay was founded in 1857 and served as the royal capital of the last Myanmar kings. It now maintains its status as the country’s heartland of traditional Buddhist culture. 

Mandalay is also home to many of the country’s most skilled artists, artisans and craftsmen. Any tour of the city should include visits to a few of the many workshops where you can learn about the production of traditional handicrafts, such as silk sarongs, wooden marionettes and embroidered tapestries. In one neighbourhood you might see dozens of artisans carving huge Buddha images from blocks of granite, while just around the corner skilled workers can be seen using age-old methods to produce paper-thin
   gold leaf used to gild pagodas.

The process of gilding can be observed at Mandalay’s famous Mahamuni Pagoda, where a steady stream of pilgrims rub gold leaf on the central Buddha image to gain merit. The pagoda grounds are also surrounded by a lively, mazelike bazaar where visitors can shop for an endless array of handicrafts and souvenirs.
 

   Inle Lake
Inle Lake in southern Shan State is home to a number of fascinating ethnic groups, including the Intha, Shan, Taung-yo, Danu, Kayah, Danaw, Bamar and Pa-O.

The best way to get a local’s perspective is to take a boat tour on the lake, floating under the open sky among the stilted villages of the Intha people. The Intha are expert swimmers and fishermen who practice a distinct form of rowing in which one leg is used to push the paddle through the water. Many make their living in an equally unique manner – by growing vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers on floating farms out on the lake.

Boat tours can also include stops at floating markets and mid-lake monasteries, as well as at land-based villages along the lakeshore. Most of these communities subsist on some form of farming or fishing, but many also support cottage industries such as pottery making, blacksmithing or the weaving of highly prized monks’ robes from lotus-stalk fibres. These crafts will be happily demonstrated for visitors. 
 

   Myeik Archipelago
Myeik Archipelago, a collection of nearly 1000 islands jutting out of the warm waters of the Andaman Sea, is home to a unique group of nomadic seafaring people known as the Salon or Moken.

During winter and summer these so-called sea gypsies live on their boats, surviving by fishing, as well as by gathering and selling seashells, pearl oysters, sea cucumbers and seaweed. The Salon are well known for their ability to swim to depths of up to 60 metres and stay submerged for many minutes as they forage for these materials.

In the rainy season, when seas are rough, the Salon move into stilted houses in shallow coastal waters. In addition to foraging in the sea, they also walk the islands looking for honey and medicinal plants to sell.Visitors to Myanmar can get a closer look at the Salon lifestyle during the Sea Gypsy Festival held during the second week of February at Ma-Kyon-Galet village in Myeik Archipelago.
 

   Kengtung
Kengtung in eastern Shan State is the kind of place that adventurous travellers yearn for: short on overcrowded, wonder-of-the-world landmarks but teeming with genuine local atmosphere. Colonial architecture mixes with Shan and Chinese buildings, while many pagodas exhibit Siamese influences.

The town is also centrally located in a region peopled by a number of diverse ethnic groups – including Lahu, Akha, Akhu, Eng, Palaung, Shan and Wa – with varied religious beliefs, making it the perfect starting point for trips to fascinating traditional villages.

To walk for just one day through the region’s wooded hills and terraced valleys is to amass a collection of sensory experiences too numerous to catalogue. In some areas it is possible to trek through small villages that, although often only a few minutes apart, each has its own distinct character. In the course of a few hours you might pass through villages settled by Akha Christians, Akha Buddhists, Eng animists, Eng Buddhists and Eng Christians before circling back to the Lahu Christian town where you started.
 

   Natmataung (Mt Victoria)
At 3095 metres, Natmataung (also called Mt Victoria) is the highest peak in the Chin Hills of western Myanmar, as well as the only mountain in the country higher than 3000 metres that is never covered in snow.

The area around the peak is protected as a 722-square-kilometre national park that is home to an astonishingly diverse array of plant and animal life. The pine and deciduous forests on the mountain’s slopes play host to a menagerie of big mammals such as leopards, bears, deer and wild boars, while nearly 300 bird species have been identified, including several that are threatened with extinction.

This natural bounty makes Natmataung the perfect destination for trekking trips and exceptionally bountiful bird-watching tours. It is also one of the best places in Myanmar for visitors to observe the customs of the Chin people, including the curious tradition among women of wearing facial tattoos of various patterns.