Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a country of extraordinary cultural richness and natural beauty that occupies the western edge of mainland Southeast Asia. Bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Thailand, it has been shaped by a dazzling succession of kingdoms and a deeply Buddhist culture that has produced some of the most remarkable religious architecture in the world.
Bagan is Myanmar's most iconic destination and one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in Asia. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the kings of Pagan built over 10,000 Buddhist temples, stupas, and monasteries across a 40-square-kilometer plain beside the Irrawaddy River. Today over 3,000 remain, their spires rising from a flat landscape of dry forest and red dust. Hot air balloon flights over Bagan at dawn — when golden light strikes hundreds of pagodas simultaneously while morning mist hangs in the valleys — rank among Asia's most transcendent experiences.
Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and last royal capital, sits at the heart of the country's cultural life. Mandalay Hill offers panoramic views across the city and the Irrawaddy plain. U Bein Bridge, the world's longest teak footbridge spanning the Taungthaman Lake, is at its most beautiful at sunset when monks in saffron robes cross in silhouette. The artisan workshops around Mandalay produce gold leaf, lacquerware, silk weaving, marble carving, and woodcarving — traditional crafts maintained by families over generations.
Inle Lake in Shan State is a highland freshwater lake where Intha fishermen practice a unique one-legged rowing technique to keep their hands free for casting nets. The lake's floating gardens, built from anchored mats of hyacinth and silt, grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and flowers that are poled to market each morning. Stilted villages, floating monasteries, and the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival create an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Southeast Asia.
Yangon, the former capital, preserves one of Asia's most intact collections of colonial-era architecture alongside the golden Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred Buddhist site in Myanmar, its 98-meter stupa rising from a hilltop visible across the city.
Myanmar's current political situation requires checking current travel advisories before planning. The best weather is November through February.
