Things to see and do Shan Plateau

Around Inle Lake there are two vineyards. If the Red Mountain Estate is the closest, it is not necessarily the best production. Nevertheless, the location remains surprising, nestled on the heights of Inle Lake and taking advantage of the microclimate of the valley. Creating wine in a tropical country has not been easy! A bet largely won thanks to a passionate team and the help of French specialists. After a visit of the estate, you will be able to treat yourself to a wine tasting while enjoying the superb sunset view over the lake and the valley.

You may never have seen such beautiful vegetable gardens as those at Inle Lake. Floating and bountiful. Inle is almost entirely self-sufficient. The men work there with their families. From an early age, the boys fill the barges with mud and push them from the water to the waist to the gardens, creating a floating barge as they go, on which the vegetables grow vigorously. The speciality here is the tomato, which is delicious. Of course, you will not fail to taste it in many restaurants in the area.

The Pindaya cave has obscure origins. The immense collection of Buddha images it houses is in fact the largest Buddhist museum in Burma. Some of the 8,000 original statues have been stolen, but there are believed to be 2,000 more, made of teak, alabaster, marble or bronze. You will climb a few steps up to the entrance of the cave. There, a multitude of statues await you in the humidity.

The tazaung or prayer hall. Built by U Khanti, the hermit monk who was also the architect of Mandalay Hill and other religious buildings in Burma.

After climbing the south staircase and passing the usual pagoda shops, you will be confronted with images of Buddha adorned and set in glass niches.

The entrance to the cave is guarded by two mythological dragons.

Alaungsithu's stūpa. The first stūpa you pass by on your way to the place was built by King Alaungsithu in 1160.

The hive of Buddha images. At the top, at the right angle on the north side of the cave, you can see images of Buddha so small that they look like bees.

The ancient stūpa. Almost entirely hidden by the stacked Buddha images is an ancient stūpa, built by the Indian emperor Ashoka more than 2,000 years ago.

The ancient statue. Just at the foot of this stūpa (no. 6), are ancient images of seated Buddha. The construction would be contemporary to Ashoka.

The labyrinth. You enter the labyrinth formed by the accumulation of Buddha's images over centuries.

The Bay-Thit-Ja-Guru images. Rare Burmese examples of Buddha images depicted in the mudra meaning 'great physicist'.

The image of Buddha sitting on the back of an elephant. Carved in wood, it would be more than 600 years old.

The meditation rooms. Several meditation rooms. One of them is only accessible on all fours. Sathipathana Vipassana meditation is practiced there.

The sweating statue. It is said that this image of Buddha was always wet.

The rock gongs. Before there were bells, people came to ring these gongs to tell the village about its merits.

The miraculous stūpa. The most venerated in the cave: it is believed to have the power to grant wishes.

The victorious point. The place where one can pray to any god or other sacred figure, supposed to help the practitioner to be persevering and victorious.

The black chalk hill. Considered sacred, the believers say that when you come into contact with the rock, you purify yourself of all evil thoughts.

The fairy pond. Its water would be good as tears because it contains copper and zinc after its passage underground.

"Termination". According to the legend, the original cave did not have the shape it has today. It was so deep that you could walk all the way to Bagan by foot. More scientifically, when the cave was formed, water must have flowed naturally through this hole.

The Alegu pagoda. After walking through the main cave, you can go to an artificial cave, Alegu paya. It is a five-minute walk from the main cave, free entrance. While all the Buddhas in the main cave are represented with their eyes closed, as a sign of contemplation of the Dhamma, those in the Alegu Pagoda have their eyes open, through Enlightenment.

For the return journey, avoid going up the stairs by cutting into the mountainside.

Built on stilts like all the other monasteries in the region, this small monastery, still in operation, is famous for its teak thein, the consecrated room, and its oval openings, unique in their kind, which sometimes let you see the heads of the bonzillons studying. It is undoubtedly a very beautiful image to photograph or simply to keep as a souvenir, which shows all the charm of Burma. Near the monastery, you can visit a small pagoda, interesting for the interior decorations of its ambulatory.

Once off the boat In Dein reserves one of the most beautiful surprises of the lake. You have to take the long and wide covered stairs for almost a kilometre, bordered by a small market of local stalls. It crosses the swampy countryside to reach King Alaungsithu's zedi. At the end, the Shwe Inn Tain pagoda is enthroned. Very pretty, but it is not the one we come to see here. At the back, we must find the exit to stay stuck in front of the landscape. A forest of stupas that rushes by hundreds of all colors in the heart of the bamboo grove.

About 2 500 stûpas stand on a hill above the Hopong valley. Over four hundred years old, no text explains who is the founder of this site. Legend says King Narapatisithu of Bagan built these Pagodas. Every year, a wonderful full moon festival takes place in March. The inhabitants of all the pa villages in the surrounding area then put their finest traditional costumes, candles illuminate pagodas, theatrical performances and musical performances take place.

A lot of handicraft workshops populate the lake. During a pirogue excursion, your pilot will stop you wherever he wants. So don't hesitate to choose your itinerary according to your points of interest first with the hotel so that the message is transmitted to him because he doesn't necessarily speak English. Blacksmiths, goldsmiths, weavers, cheeroots factories, these cigars rolled by hand, the choice is vast. The most interesting according to us: the floating gardens, the cigarette factory, and the lotus factory. And if you like Burmese cats, the Inle Heritage!

The Myinnahti cave is located near the village of the same name, on the Loikaw road, about ten kilometres from Kalaw. If you decide to go there on foot, please ask the hotel for directions and allow an hour and a half of hiking through lush nature. Once there, you will discover this deep natural cave. A long winding corridor of a few hundred meters filled with buddhas. The place was used as a hideout by the Japanese during the Second World War to protect themselves from British bombing. Its limestone formations are worth seeing.