Best things to do in Myanmar (Burma)

21.07.2023 - 07:27 / roughguides.com / George V (V)

Wherever your itinerary takes you, travel in Myanmar (Burma) is sure to provide a wealth of new exotic experiences – whether you’re air-kissing at your waiter in a city teahouse or witnessing your first nat ceremony. To mark the release of our first guide to the country, we've picked the best things to do in Myanmar.

The information in this article is inspired by The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma) , your essential guide for visiting Myanmar.

From Yangon’s traffic-choked streets to dusty village lanes, Myanmar’s teahouses are local institutions. Enthusiastic tea boys dodge between the tables, slopping tea into saucers and serving up deep-fried snacks.

Patrons air kiss loudly to attract the staff’s attention, their eyes on the football match on TV and their minds on teashop gossip. Stop for a bowl of mohinga – the nation’s favourite noodle soup, or refuel with a char kway (a Chinese-style doughnut) dunked in a delicious cup of sweet, milky tea.

A visit to Myanmar is a magical experience. Take this tailor-made Myanmar Highlights trip and explore Yangon, with its busy harbour bustling markets and glistening pagodas. Encounter meditating Buddhas and traditional villages, and be awestruck by mystical Mandalay’s hidden gems.

The Irrawaddy River curls south from the foothills of the Himalayas, unfurling past Mandalay and Bagan’s temple-covered plain before spilling its silt-rich waters into the Andaman Sea. Myanmar’s most important waterway is plied by everything from luxury teak-decked steamers to ponderous government ferries and leaking speedboats.

Climb aboard your vessel of choice and float downstream to see a slice of riverside life – and remember to keep an eye out for rare Irrawaddy dolphins. See our tailor-made trip to the Famous Waterways of Myanmar and you will experience Myanmar as never before. Cruise along the Irrawaddy River, take a boat trip around Inle Lake and Sagar and fly over Bagan and its many temples in a hot-air balloon.

Irrawaddy River, Bagan, Myanmar @ Shutterstock

Echoes of British Burma reverberate in a handful of places around Myanmar. From streets lined with peeling colonial-era buildings and afternoon tea at The Strand in Yangon, to ghostly locations from George Orwell’s novel Burmese Days in Katha.

Nowhere are these echoes louder than in Pyin Oo Lwin, a former hill station. Here horse-drawn carriages trundle past mouldering teakwood mansions and a bell cast for George V’s Silver Jubilee still chimes from the town’s Purcell Tower.

The old style horse cart at Pyin oo Lwin, Myanmar © Shutterstock

As in other Southeast Asian countries, in Burmese food it’s considered important to balance sour, spicy, bitter and salty flavours. This is generally done across a series of dishes rather