Best time to visit Myanmar
There are two things you want to avoid when on holiday in Burma – intense heat, and intense rain![]()
The best time to visit Burma, therefore, is during the drier winter months of October to March. It's hot during the daytime, and lowland temperatures remain pleasant at night – although bring much warmer layers for the highlands and hill stations as they are chilly in the evenings. Bagan and Mandalay are the hottest, driest regions – temperatures can peak at over 40°C – but rainfall is still light here in the wetter season, and with more bearable temperatures this is the best time to visit Burma to avoid the winter crowds.
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Burma, month by month
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Our top Myanmar (Burma) Holiday
Burma cultural holiday
Discover a side of Myanmar hidden beyond the tourist trail
From
£2220
15 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2022: 29 Oct, 10 Dec
2022: 29 Oct, 10 Dec
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RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL RECOMMENDS
Mark Huggins, from our supplier Undiscovered Destinations: "There's a perception that the best time to visit Burma is from November to March, but it's actually fine to visit many places in our summer months as well. There are certain places that will be very wet during the rainy season, and you can't get to the beach areas like Ngapali, but the areas around Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake don't see a lot of rain even in summer, and even when it does rain it tends to be short, sharp showers. It's not oppressive in terms of heat, whereas March and April are absolutely scorching.
Personally, I think November is beautiful. It’s just after the rainy season, the land is very lush and vibrant and temperatures are perfect.”
Our festive pick:
Hot air balloon festivals
Each November, hot air balloons crafted from handmade paper are released into the sky to mark the end of the rainy season and honour Buddhist and Hindu deities. There are competitions for the most elaborately decorated balloons and the best firework display. Taunggyi hosts the largest festival, but there are smaller versions across Shan State.
Each November, hot air balloons crafted from handmade paper are released into the sky to mark the end of the rainy season and honour Buddhist and Hindu deities. There are competitions for the most elaborately decorated balloons and the best firework display. Taunggyi hosts the largest festival, but there are smaller versions across Shan State.
Festivals & events
Once a year, in September or October, the famous “leg-rowers” paddle a gilded barge around the stilt-house villages for Lake Inle’s Boat Festival. The barge contains images of Buddha, and boat races by the leg-rowers also take place – it’s a wonderful introduction to local religion and tradition.
Pagoda festivals commemorate the founding and crowning of the pagoda, as well as other events in its history. Bigger pagoda festivals include Yangon’s Shwedagon in February/March, and the Golden Rock and Bagan’s Schwezigon, both in November.
The larger festivals attract pilgrims from across the country, and involve food stalls, Yoke thé marionette theatre, music and dance, and martial arts.
The larger festivals attract pilgrims from across the country, and involve food stalls, Yoke thé marionette theatre, music and dance, and martial arts.
Burma’s new year celebration, called Thingyan – “water festival” – occurs around mid-April. It coincides with the Buddhist new year, and the five day celebration involves what look like water fights – where the participants throw water over each other to wash away sins and cleanse themselves for the coming year.
More about Myanmar (Burma)
Myanmar (Burma) opened up to tourists again in 2011, and the appeal of seeing what lies beyond the borders of this once closed-off nation is still strong.
Our interactive map reveals our top Myanmar (Burma) highlights, plus suggested itineraries to make the most of each region.
The journey becomes the destination in Myanmar, as every step of the way is lined with ancient stupas and pagodas, traditional craft workshops, floating markets and even the "Road to Mandalay" itself.
Myanmar’s relative isolation has helped to preserve its long, rich culture and visitors today will be dazzled by its Buddhist temples, tempted by its crafts and charmed by its gentle, welcoming people, well known for their modesty and warmth.
Not visiting the temples of Bagan in Burma is akin to avoiding Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Myanmar’s second largest lake is a little bit special and not just for the 70,000 Intha people living and working around its edges.
Myanmar is not well known as a small ship cruising destination – its temple-studded interior tends to steal the limelight – but in the far south of the country, the remote Mergui Archipelago is a remarkable, pristine group of islands which can only be explored by catamaran.
Travelling in Myanmar with kids needn't be daunting if you do your research, book with a holiday company focused on all things family.
If you're wondering about the best place to meet elephants, how to bring up Burmese politics, whether the country is going to change much or where to see the war murals of Genghis Khan, our partner holiday companies share their Myanmar travel advice.
It's important wherever you go, but responsible tourism in Myanmar is an especially hot topic as this country is just opening up to tourism and Western involvement after decades of dictatorship and isolation.
