Destination · Myanmar
Delighting visitors with picture-perfect views, Inle Lake, at 900 metres above sea level, is a restful stop after the historic attractions of Inle and Mandalay.
The lake, 22 km long and 10 km wide, is home to about 150,000 people, many of whom live on floating islands formed by vegetation.
Natural and unpolluted, Inle Lake is famous for its scenic beauty and for the typical leg-rowing of the Inthas, the lake's native inhabitants.
The festival is held with great magnificence and pageantry, and during these days games and dances take place everywhere. The four sacred Buddha images are ceremoniously carried clockwise along the shores of the lake on a decorated royal barge, towed by leg-rowed boats powered by fishermen; the procession brings the images to every village so residents can pay homage. No visitor to Myanmar should miss this spectacle.
The main event of the festival is the traditional Shan boat race, with "leg-rowers" of both sexes in traditional costumes taking part.
The Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival attracts participants both from nearby areas and the remotest parts of Myanmar, not only for homage to the sacred Buddha statues, but for the fame of this race of these particular Intha (male) and Inthu (female) rowers.
