What's on in Inle Lake (Nyaungshwe), Myanmar through the year

Busy — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter waterbirds (1 Dec – 15 Feb (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Burning season haze

  15 Feb – 30 Apr · usuallySmoke season

  The Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke settles into the basin the lake sits in. The far shore disappears first, and the hills behind it stay gone for weeks. Source ↗

Still on: Winter waterbirds (1 Dec – 15 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Burning season haze (15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Thingyan water festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Thingyan water festival

  13–17 AprWater-festival New YearClosures

  Four days of water thrown from every roadside in Nyaungshwe, with boats, banks and most kitchens shut alongside it. Arrange the transfer in or out before it starts. Source ↗

Still on: Burning season haze (15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Waso full moon

  1 Jul – 5 Aug · usuallyReligious feast

  The Waso full moon opens Buddhist Lent around the lake: robes and candles are carried to the monasteries of Nyaungshwe and the stilt villages, and novices are ordained. A quiet, rain-soaked time to visit. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Waso full moon (1 Jul – 5 Aug (usually))

Busy — Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival

  20 Sep – 25 Oct · usuallyReligious feastCrowdedBook early

  Eighteen days in which four gilded Buddha images are towed round the lake on a hintha barge by teams of leg-rowers, staying a night in each village. Nyaungshwe is full for the finish. Source ↗

Busy — Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival (20 Sep – 25 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Taunggyi balloon festival, Shan New Year

• Festival

  Taunggyi balloon festival

  1–25 Nov · usuallyLights & fireCrowdedRisk

  On the Tazaungmon full moon the hill town up the road launches paper balloons loaded with fireworks, which go off overhead as often as they go up. It is two hours from the lake and worth the night out. Source ↗

• Festival

  Shan New Year

  15 Nov – 20 Dec · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Taunggyi, an hour up the hill from Nyaungshwe, celebrates the Shan New Year with a week of dances, Shan martial arts, drumming and food stalls on the first waxing day of the Shan calendar. Source ↗

Busy — Shan New Year, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Winter waterbirds

  1 Dec – 15 Feb · usuallyBirdlife season

  The lake is a stopover for thousands of migrating waterbirds, and December and January are the best birding months. Early boats see the most, but the dawn ride across the water is bitterly cold. Source ↗

Still on: Shan New Year (15 Nov – 20 Dec (usually))