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Situated 2600 feet above sea level on a plateau in Burma's Western Shan State, Inle Lake is one of the country's main tourist destinations. The large and quite shallow lake's most well-known attraction is its leg-rowing fishermen, who stand balanced on one foot at the forward tip of their slender boats while they paddle with the other leg and search the surface of the lake for signs fish, which they then capture with nets suspended from conical bamboo traps that are thrust into the shallow water. The lake is also known for its Inthu people, who live in stilted houses over the water and farm the lake by planting crops on floating islands of vegetation and composted soil which are staked to the lake bottom and can be transported as required. Touring of the lake is done by motored longboats, with the itinerary comprised of visits to the lake's various industries (hand-woven silk, Shan hand bags, hand-made cheroot cigars, blacksmithing, and silversmithing). Another draw to the lake is the floating vendors that sell a variety of handicrafts in addition to foodstuffs.
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