Burma Travel Guide — Bagan, Inle Lake and the Slow Country

Burma — formally Myanmar since 1989, but still Burma to most of its English-speaking neighbours and to many of its own people — is one of the most visually extraordinary countries in Asia and one of the most politically difficult to travel through. The 2,000-temple plain at Bagan is, alongside Angkor and Borobudur, one of three superlative ruined-temple landscapes in the world. Inle Lake's leg-rowing Intha fishermen and floating gardens are unique on Earth. The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the Mandalay Hill sunset, the colonial bones of Mawlamyine — none of it has any direct parallel anywhere else.

It is also a country in the fifth year of a civil war that began with the 1 February 2021 military coup. That fundamentally changes how foreign travellers should think about visiting in 2026. This guide covers both — the practical "how to travel in Burma" the country has always needed, and the 2026 context that anyone considering a trip needs to weigh first.

The 2026 backdrop

Since the coup, the military junta (the State Administration Council) has fought a multi-front civil war against the National Unity Government and an alliance of ethnic armed organisations. Large areas of the country are now outside junta control — much of Sagaing, Magway, Karenni (Kayah), Chin and Rakhine, and shifting parts of the Shan and Kachin States. The army has lost border crossings. Conscription was introduced in early 2024 and continues to be enforced in junta-controlled urban areas.

For travellers this matters in three ways:

- Western government advisories universally say "Do Not Travel" or equivalent. UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ and most EU countries have the highest-level warning. - Insurance is unavailable under standard policies; specialty Level 4 cover is limited and expensive. - The National Unity Government and most ethnic armed organisations have publicly asked tourists not to come, on the grounds that tourism revenue overwhelmingly flows to junta-aligned hotels, airlines and tour operators, and that visa fees go directly to the junta's foreign-exchange reserves.

Some travellers go anyway, particularly to the central temple-belt cities (Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Inle) which are still under junta control and remain physically accessible. The ethical position you take on this is yours to make. This guide is written so you can make it informed.

The classic loop, with caveats

Pre-coup, the standard 10–14 day tourist itinerary was Yangon → Bagan → Mandalay → Inle Lake → Yangon. Domestic flights connected the four legs, the bus and overnight-train alternatives were cheap, and most travellers stitched together a satisfying loop.

In 2026:

- Domestic flights still run between Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan (Nyaung-U) and Heho (for Inle), but on a reduced schedule with frequent cancellations. Junta-controlled Myanmar Airways and a few private carriers operate. - Long-distance buses are restricted in many directions. Routes that cross contested territory are unsafe or closed. - The overnight Yangon–Mandalay train runs intermittently; rolling stock is decades old and the schedule should be treated as aspirational. - Foreigners are restricted from many areas entirely — most of Sagaing, all of the conflict zones in Karenni, parts of Shan and Kachin, the entire coast of Rakhine. The junta restricts foreign movement to a roughly Yangon–Mandalay–Bagan–Inle quadrilateral plus a few coastal beach areas.

Within those constraints the four headline sights remain extraordinary.

Bagan

Two thousand stupas, temples and monasteries spread across a 100 km² dry plain in the bend of the Ayeyarwady River — built between the 11th and 13th centuries and somehow still mostly standing after the major 1975 and 2016 earthquakes. The standard play is two or three full days of cycling between temples, with sunrise from a less-touristed pagoda and sunset from another. Hot-air ballooning is back in operation in season (October–April). The 2016 earthquake closed climbing on the iconic temples themselves, so sunrise photography is now from purpose-built mounds.

Inle Lake

A 22 km long shallow freshwater lake on the western edge of the Shan plateau, ringed by Pa-O and Intha villages built on stilts in the water. The Intha fishermen famously row their flat-bottomed boats with one leg wrapped around the oar to free both hands for net-handling — one of those tourist-poster scenes that turns out, in person, to be exactly what they actually do. Day-long boat tours visit the floating gardens, the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, weaving and silver workshops.

Mandalay

The country's second city and old royal capital — the 19th-century palace (rebuilt after WWII bombing), Mandalay Hill at sunset, the U Bein teak bridge across Taungthaman Lake at sunrise, and the day-trip to Mingun, Sagaing and Inwa (the four old capitals on the river bend). Mandalay is also the textile and gemstone trade centre. Several of the city's classic outlying sights are now in conflict-affected zones; check current access.

Yangon

The former capital and still the largest city — a slowly-decaying tropical port town with the Shwedagon Pagoda (the most important Buddhist site in Burma), a remarkable colonial-era downtown of British administrative buildings, and the night markets along Strand Road. Yangon is the most physically secure of the four standard stops in 2026 but also where the junta presence is most visible.

Money and visas

Visas. As of 2026 e-Visa applications run through the official junta site (evisa.moip.gov.mm). Tourist visa US$50, business visa US$70. The fee revenue goes to the junta. Visa-on-arrival is suspended.

Money. Burma is cash only for foreign tourists. Bring crisp, unmarked, post-2006 US dollar bills — the kyat exchange rate at official banks is significantly worse than the unofficial market rate (which has been 3–5x the official rate through 2024–25). ATMs that accept foreign cards exist in Yangon but are unreliable; do not depend on them. Currency exchange happens informally — your hotel will help.

Connectivity. Mobile data works in cities. Many Western platforms are blocked: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, most VPNs are restricted. WhatsApp works. Telegram works.

Where to stay (ethics first)

The single most-discussed practical question among travellers who do go is: how do you minimise revenue to the junta? The clearest guidance from the National Unity Government and the resistance has been:

- Avoid junta-owned and crony-owned hotels — there are published lists, updated by Justice For Myanmar (justiceformyanmar.org). The big chains in Yangon and Naypyidaw are mostly on those lists. - Use small family-run guesthouses where the income flows to the household. - Pay in cash, in dollars so the money stays out of the formal banking sector. - Skip junta-run domestic airlines where alternatives exist, which they sometimes do.

This is harder than it sounds — much of the formal hospitality sector is one or two degrees from the regime — but the published lists make the worst offenders avoidable.

Should you go?

The honest 2026 read: most travellers should not, right now. The reasons that made Burma the most rewarding slow-travel destination in mainland Southeast Asia (the temples, the lake, the people, the food, the slowness) are still there, and they will still be there when the war ends. The reasons not to go (the war is not abstract — civilians are being killed, towns are being burned, monks are leading protests in places foreigners can no longer reach, and your visa fee is paid to the people doing it) are not going to be lighter on the conscience of a future visitor.

If you have a personal reason to go — family, work, longstanding ties, a documentary project — go with proper insurance, dollar cash, a clear plan to spend on small operators rather than the big chains, no naïve photography of soldiers or checkpoints, and a Burmese contact who can explain the current geography of safety in real time.

If you are choosing it for the photographs, the photographs will wait. They have for a long time and the stupas will not move.