Let's go Myanmar, Myanmar is a
land of richness of nature and diversity of species. It
is endowed with one of the largest forest covers in the
region. More than half of the country is still covered
with forests. The land area of Myanmar has a variety of
natural resources, plants and animals. There are over
7000 plants, about 1100 bird species, 300 mammals and
350 reptiles. The richness of biodiversity makes Myanmar
ideal for ecotourism.
Myanmar has a rapidly expending protected area system.
Wildlife sanctuaries are lands preserved and protected
from human activity that may disturb the wildlife.
There are more than 20 wildlife sanctuaries.
The natural forests of Myanmar provide substantial
opportunities for ecotourism development. The
MeinmahlaKyun Wildlife Sanctuary in the Ayeyarwaddy
Delta, the Hlawga Park near Yangon, the Moeyungyi Wet-
lands Wildlife Sanctuary near Bago, the Seinyay Forest
Resort| on the strategic road across Bago Yoma teak
forests, the Popa Mountain Park and the Shwe-set-taw
Wildlife Sanctuary in the Central Myanmar. The
Pyin-Oo-lwin Botanical Gardens, the Alaungtaw Kathapa
National Park in Upper Myanmar and the Inle Lake
Wetlands Wildlife Sanctuary on the Shan Plateau of
Eastern Myanmar are among those with outstanding
ecotourism potential.
Indawgyi Lake
The
Inn-Daw Gyi Wetlands Wildlife Sanctuary in northern
Myanmar and the Natmataung (Mt. Victoria) National Park
on the north-west Chin Hills are also of high potential
for ecotourism and are now being developed. The Chatthin
Wildlife Sanctuary in Upper Myanmar is also the
protected area where development activities for
ecotourism are being made. Moreover, the Khakarborazi
National I Park in the far north constitutes an
attractive environment with snow-capped mountains and
sub-alpine forests and opportunities for mountaineering
and outdoor recreation. Most striking upgrading have
recently been made at Pyin-Oo-Lwin Botanical Gardens,
Popa Mountain Park and Moeyungyi Wetlands Wildlife
Sanctuary, to promote ecotourism, public recreation,
Nat Ma Taung ( Mt. Victoria)
Mt.Victoria
is unique in the natural environment of Myanmar. The
Chin Hills have never been opened to tourists; hence,
they are unspoiled and are full of natural beauty,
including high mountains with various kinds of forests
which are rich with flora and fauna.The most well known
flower of the region is Rhado- Dendron arboretum. The
Chin Hill are notable for Nat Ma Taung , in Kan-pet-lett
Township, rising to a height of 3,055 meters above sea
level.
Among the people of Chin Hills are the "Tattoo faced"
Chin women and "Naga" who are native of Chin States.
They live along the long range of Chin Hills from North
to South.The Chin State is notable for numbers of rare
birds and endemic birds spices. The National Park is
believed to be one of the largest and best reserved
natural habitats remaining with Chin State.Chin State
day is on February 20th. On that day, tribal people
living around the capital of Northern Chin State" Mindut
" came to celebrated their " National Day " every year.
Moeyungyi Wetlands
Moeyungyi
Wetlands are situated in Bago Division, about 70 miles
north of Yangon-Mandalay highway. It is just two hours
drive from Yangon. In 1878 a water storage reservoir
changed naturally into Wetlands over the area of 40 sq.
miles. These wetlands have high wetland conservation
value. As a result, these wetlands were turned into a
wildlife sanctuary since 1988.
Every year, millions of birds usually fly from northern
hemisphere to the South along the East Asian-Australian
Flyway to escape from winter. They stop to rest and feed
in Asia. Moeyungyi is part of a network of Wetland
comprising the East Asian-Australian Flyway. A recent
study revealed that there are 125 species of water birds
including 70 species of migrants, in Moeyungyi. The best
season to visit is from November to March. In addition
to bird watching, you can observe the fauna and flora of
the wetlands and the colorful lifestyle of the native
people.
Popa Mountain
The park is
located in Kyaukpadaung township of Mandalay division.
It is only 67 km from 11th century Buddhist
archaeological site of Bagan. The park covers 49.63
square miles area.
Botanical Gardens, Pyin Oo Lwin
It
s area of over 340 acres which includes natural forests,
lakes and recreational lawns plus alluring landscapes
and scenic views. One can enjoy the beauty of fountains,
cascades and seasonal flowers throughout the whole year.
Myaing Haywun & Elephant Trekking
Elephant
trekking is a popular holiday and recreational activity
around the world.
In Myanmar, we have six place where elephant trekking
facilities are available for tourists as well as for the
Myanmar people.
Four of these places are listed below:
Myaing-hay-wun Elephant Research Camp.
Hu-kaung Valley Wild Life Sanctuary in Kachin State
Alaung-daw Kathapa National Park, and in Sagaing
division
Sein Ye in Campin Oaktwin township of Bago division, are
accessible for tourists.
Elephant trekking in Wild Life Sanctuaries and National
Park has been carried out with the cooperation of
private tour companies.
Myaing Hay Wun Elephant Research Camp sites on 10 acres
only and 72 miles from downtown Yangon in Taik Kyi
Township of Yangon Division.There are 32 domesticated
elephants in the camp, and about 200 feral elephants are
in the wild around the camp.
Myaing Hay Wun Elephant Research Camp gives three
services;
Elephant trekking
Elephant entertainment and
Elephant dancing
Mt. khakaborazi
The
region surrounding the town of Putao – located in
northern Myanmar’s Kachin State – is an undeniable
showcase of this diversity. Putao itself is flat and
contains no big trees, but it is becoming increasingly
famous as a jumping-off point for trekkers who want to
explore the region’s deep forests and snow-capped
mountains, including the 5889-metre-high Mount
Khakaborazi, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Snow begins falling on the mountain peak by the end of
October, but precipitation that falls at night or in the
morning usually melts away by the afternoon. By
mid-November temperatures have dropped enough that the
snow stays around longer and begins blanketing Putao
itself.
Lampi Island
Lampi
is one of the islands of Myeik Archipelago. The length
of the island is about 50 km and the average width about
11 km, with the land surface area around 205 km. The
distance to Lampi by sea from Myeik is 145 km. Lampi
Marine Park has great potential for both marine and land
based ecotourism. The sea trip from Kawthaung, through
the beautiful islands of the Archipelago is of great
interest. Great care is being to preserve one of the
last untouched tropical under water paradises, which is
attracting attention as the world class diving
destination.