Ywama
Encyclopedia
Ywama village is located on the western side of Inle Lake
Inle Lake
Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar . It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of , and one of the highest at an altitude of...

, Shan State, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. The village is most easily accessible by boat from the town of Nyaung Shwe
Nyaung Shwe
Nyaung Shwe is a town a few kilometers north of Inle Lake in the Shan State of Myanmar.It is located south of Sakangyi and southwest of Taunggyi. Bawrithat Pagoda lies in the southern part of the town....

 on the north side of the lake.

Nearly all the homes and buildings are constructed on piles driven into the lake bed. Residents travel around by canoe, but there are also numerous bamboo walkways and bridges over the canals running throughout. As such, there is no main street or square, but there are pagoda complexes and monasteries on built-up areas.

Ywama is part of the 5-day rotating market cycle of Inle (the market appears in a different location on the lake each day). Ywama's market takes place on the grounds of a pagoda complex. However, much of the commerce takes place on the water as merchants, their small boats loaded with handicrafts or produce, do business with locals and tourists. This floating market is a big draw to visitors of the lake.

The village is home to a monastery and a stupa, weaving, metal smithing, wood carving and umbrella workshops. There are also many "floating gardens" where farmers plant crops like tomatoes on floating mats of vegetation anchored in place with bamboo poles.

From the air, the area is so filled with floating vegetation that it appears more land than lake.

Ywama is just south of Nga Phe Kyaung (Jumping Cat Monastery) and north east of the Indein village and pagoda complex.
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