PutaO Myanmar - far east Himalayas

PutaO - Perfectly Peaceful

Early the next morning we expected delayed flights. The first flight to Myitkyina was delayed. When we arrived at Myitkyina the pilots turned off the engines and said we would have to wait for a big storm to pass over Putao.

Putao is reached from Myitkyina by flight from Mandalay. We started in Naypyitaw driving to Mandalay at night through a rainstorm with a strong wind pushing us into a dark Mandalay Hotel at midnight.

The puddles in Putao were as big as the storm. It seemed to clear quickly and we walked around the empty airport building to a wooden temporary building for immigration.

Considering the relaxed security conditions and a lack of electricity they were fairly quick at processing our papers.

Check-in was very basic - a desk, scale, and handwritten luggage tags. The baggage claim was operated by men pulling the luggage to waiting passengers.

A very warm welcome from the staff at Putao Trekking House. There were four clusters of cabins with four rooms - two up and two down. They were clean and comfortable rooms with showers and hot water.

It is a slow sleepy place - Putao has 4 hotels and 2 guest houses.

They picked us up in a van from the airport - one of the few vehicles in Putao. The most common transport we saw were motorbikes (many without number plates), then ox carts and small tractors.


Putao is at the bottom left corner of the map. The upper middle region is the far eastern edge of the Himalayas with Hkakaborazi (5889m) the highest peak followed by Welandrazi (5834m), Dandirazi (5180)m, Sheintalagrazi (4993m), Malikhurazi (4907m), Madoirazi (4616m), Phanganrazi (4328m), Phononrazi (4297m), Dandi Razi (4097m), and Phonyinrazi (3500m). Razi means mountain in the Rawang language; one of the larger ethnic groups living in the region.

At a corner in Putao women sit and try to sell some of their products and a few fish.

Down the road, a well in front of a house offers passersby a drink of cool water from a clay pot.

Children play on the empty roads where traffic is just an occasional motorbike.

Women carry loads of wood from the surrounding forests to use for cooking. The use of forest products and shifting cultivation is taking a toll on the local biodiversity.

Old Buddhist temples are found in the area. Some are both temples and monasteries for young monks. 


The Lisu and Rawang ethnic groups are Christian and follow the Church of Christ brought to Putao by an American missionary that also converted the Nagas in Nagaland.

Young girls help out in the home watching younger siblings, cooking and washing clothes.

What do teenage boys do for fun? They play a game called chinlone that is a cross between volleyball and football. The ball is made from cane and is very light. While playing the ball cannot touch the ground or be handled.

The Hkakaborazi museum supported by the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Forestry has an exhibition showing the flora and fauna of the region. There we meet a handful of the 20 forestry officers that try to patrol the huge area of Hkakaborazi National Park. The officers have a few motorbikes but most walk the area - still poaching and deforestation are hard to control.

Flowering orchids and birds filled the trees - Myanmar hosts up to 1114 species of birds. We sighted many types of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies as we explored the area. 

Get up early! The Putao market starts before 6 am, selling fish and a variety of locally produced fruits and vegetables.

Breakfast on a banana leaf was delicious - it contained purple sticky rice, chickpeas, and a ground-up peanut spice topping.


So many fish all from the rivers and freshly caught. They sell very quickly, and the reason to get to the market early. Many are types of carp. One woman was removing the scales from a Golden Masheer carp.

Many women were selling greens of various sorts such as watercress, morning glory, coriander, and spinach.

A variety of different yams, ginger, tiny potatoes, and tomatoes were laid out in small piles.

On one side of the market goods from Myitkyina are brought in and sold. These large-sized fruits and vegetables contrast with the local produce.
Day trips


Not far from Putao is the Kanugmulon Pagoda. 

This pagoda covers an ancient one that was said to date to the Asoka period. The outside was being redone and encased in a bamboo webbing for the workers to move around on.

The unusual features with long ears and flattened face appeared on several Buddha statues in other pagodas.

The shoreline of the Malikha River was quiet and lovely in the late afternoon light.

The ultra-expensive Malikha Lodge is nearby with jet ski watercraft parked on the river bank. What a way to disturb the peace and quiet!

A husband and wife team were fish for their livelihoods and dinner.



Many families were fishing and washing clothes at the river. The water was clear and clean.

On a walk through Rawang and Lisu villages we made lots of young friends.

Some have made walking stilts and homemade go-carts to keep themselves entertained.

One very quiet girl sitting with her grandmother was eating sunflower seeds that her grandmother placed in her small hands.

Trekking in PutaO

Trekking can be a challenge with narrow bamboo sticks for crossing over steep landslips and logs over rivers. It is still worth the effort to make it to a very nice primary forest area - as yet untouched. This was a day trek with a lovely spot for a picnic lunch.


Departure of biodiversity
At the airport shop, one can buy a number of interesting forest items. One highly prized and expensive item is the famed performance enhancer, Cordyceps sinesis, that grows on its host moth in altitude pastures. It is highly valued, costing more than gold in China. 


Other Cordyceps spp are found at lower elevations in the forest. Some fungi produce more than one horn or fruiting body that protrudes from the host like a horn. In the forests near Putao this fungus invades other species of caterpillars producing longer and more numerous horns. These are found on pine trees, but this one is not as highly sought after and the cost is much less.


This is the way that the local families generate income.

Interesting but controversial, the display of "medicinal" items contained endangered species. There were bottles of bear bile, deer gland extract, horns and hoofs of a tiny mouse deer and other unidentifiable body parts. One elixir available was sold in a strong alcohol containing ginseng, caterpillar fungus, queen bees, and other seeds.

The future of the gentle villagers of Putao is in the hands of tourism development, which will happen very quickly once the road is completed. I hope it will be kind and respectful of their culture.