NESTLED in the rugged hills of Chin State, at more than 2000 metres above sea level, is a heart-shaped body of water called Rih Lake.
Although the area around the lake is breathtakingly beautiful, it is rarely seen by anyone from outside the region due to the difficulty of access: Getting there from central and lower Myanmar requires driving on long stretches of rough dirt road through high mountains.
But some travel agents in Yangon are now expressing interest in cashing in on the growing desire of tourists to explore the remote area.
“We’ve been interested in offering package tours to Chin State for the past three or four years, ever since MRTV-4 broadcast actor Lwin Moe’s travel program to the region,” said Hlaing Myint Oo, a spokesperson from Yangon-based Khit Shayh Saung travel and tour company.
But he said road conditions in mountainous Chin State made travelling by full-size bus difficult and dangerous.
It wasn’t until last month’s Thingyan holiday that the company, which has been organising domestic tours for 40 years, finally sorted out the logistics and were able to send a small group from Yangon to the isolated area.
The nine-day trip started in Yangon and took travellers to Kalaymyo, Tamu, Morae, Tiddim and Rih Lake in Chin State, as well as Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park in Sagaing Division, before returning to Yangon.
The tickets cost K200,000 per person, including meals but exclusive of accommodation.
The travellers used a full-size express bus from Yangon to Monywa in Sagaing Division, but from there they transferred to a 33-seat mini-bus, which was more suitable for negotiating the tricky roads of Chin State.
“We could only sell tickets for the trip according to the number of seats available on the mini-bus,” Hlaing Myint Oo said, adding that the trip was fully booked.
He said the trip was a great success, although some of the travellers were a bit frightened by the rugged terrain.
“On the road between Tiddim and Rih Lake there was a very deep ravine to one side, and the road was so narrow that we had to drive within two or three feet of the edge. We didn’t dare look down,” he said.
Although the trip was quite difficult and tiring, all sense of fatigue dropped away when they saw the beauty of the Chin Hills, he said.
“All the views are so beautiful. It’s incomparable to the views I’ve seen in other places that I’ve travelled in Myanmar,” Hlaing Myint Oo said.
For many, Rih Lake was a highlight of the trip. Although it is surrounded by farmland, there are no villages nearby. Accommodation is limited to six bungalows – each with two rooms – and there is only one restaurant in the vicinity.
“The important thing for attracting visitors is to make the journey safer for everyone,” said U Kan Hla, who helps run the lakeside bungalows. “But if too many people came to visit, accommodation would be a problem.”
As an added attraction, in February local residents started offering motorboat rides on the lake. Boats can be hired for K8000 and can accommodate up to 10 people.
Although the area around the lake is breathtakingly beautiful, it is rarely seen by anyone from outside the region due to the difficulty of access: Getting there from central and lower Myanmar requires driving on long stretches of rough dirt road through high mountains.
But some travel agents in Yangon are now expressing interest in cashing in on the growing desire of tourists to explore the remote area.
“We’ve been interested in offering package tours to Chin State for the past three or four years, ever since MRTV-4 broadcast actor Lwin Moe’s travel program to the region,” said Hlaing Myint Oo, a spokesperson from Yangon-based Khit Shayh Saung travel and tour company.
But he said road conditions in mountainous Chin State made travelling by full-size bus difficult and dangerous.
It wasn’t until last month’s Thingyan holiday that the company, which has been organising domestic tours for 40 years, finally sorted out the logistics and were able to send a small group from Yangon to the isolated area.
The nine-day trip started in Yangon and took travellers to Kalaymyo, Tamu, Morae, Tiddim and Rih Lake in Chin State, as well as Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park in Sagaing Division, before returning to Yangon.
The tickets cost K200,000 per person, including meals but exclusive of accommodation.
The travellers used a full-size express bus from Yangon to Monywa in Sagaing Division, but from there they transferred to a 33-seat mini-bus, which was more suitable for negotiating the tricky roads of Chin State.
“We could only sell tickets for the trip according to the number of seats available on the mini-bus,” Hlaing Myint Oo said, adding that the trip was fully booked.
He said the trip was a great success, although some of the travellers were a bit frightened by the rugged terrain.
“On the road between Tiddim and Rih Lake there was a very deep ravine to one side, and the road was so narrow that we had to drive within two or three feet of the edge. We didn’t dare look down,” he said.
Although the trip was quite difficult and tiring, all sense of fatigue dropped away when they saw the beauty of the Chin Hills, he said.
“All the views are so beautiful. It’s incomparable to the views I’ve seen in other places that I’ve travelled in Myanmar,” Hlaing Myint Oo said.
For many, Rih Lake was a highlight of the trip. Although it is surrounded by farmland, there are no villages nearby. Accommodation is limited to six bungalows – each with two rooms – and there is only one restaurant in the vicinity.
“The important thing for attracting visitors is to make the journey safer for everyone,” said U Kan Hla, who helps run the lakeside bungalows. “But if too many people came to visit, accommodation would be a problem.”
As an added attraction, in February local residents started offering motorboat rides on the lake. Boats can be hired for K8000 and can accommodate up to 10 people.
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