Visit to the north of Myanmar

You can travel to Lake Indawgyi and Myitkyina without any problems. You can also stop at Katha which is on the way. You can get to them all by train or bus. Lake Indawgyi is a bit ^out of the way^ and could take some time to get to. The road that leads there is bad and there is very limited accommodation there. You are not allowed anywhere north of Myitkyina (without permits to travel) and depending on the current situation there, you might not be able to actually leave the town at all in any direction. Bear in mind that when you reach Myitkyina, the only way you can leave the town is to fly somewhere else, or to travel on the road back to Mandalay. All other roads are closed to foreigners. Good luck.

Thanks for your answer, Chris. Some local guide told me right now we need a permit to go there :/ bit confusing all this information...have you been there recently? There are no boats coming down from Khata to Mandalay?

I visited Myitkyina and Katha about a year ago and nothing has changed since then. In the last few weeks I have helped 2 different people plan a road trip around Kachin State. It is not easy to travel in Kachin State due to a lot of roads being closed to foreigners. Both of the people I helped have contacted me recently to say that there trip went OK and with no problems. Both of them went to Lake Indawgyi and Katha and one of them went on to Myitkyina as Well! The last person only contacted me about 2 weeks ago. So assuming nothing has changed in the last 2 weeks you shouldn't have any problems at all. IF things have changed recently, then when you try to buy a bus or train ticket the person selling you the ticket will inform you if you can't travel into Kachin State. The boat from Katha to Mandalay was running when I visited Katha . I don't know if it still does. The boat used to go on to Bhamo as well, but there has been troubles around Bhamo recently, so I doubt you would be allowed to go there at the moment. You could go from Mandalay to Katha by boat, but it takes along time because you are going against the flow of the river. Also the boats depend on the water level being high Enough!

So called express boat goes daily between Katha and Bhamo, and Katha and Mandalay...foreigners can currently travel on both. I did that later one last week. You can train, or fly, to Myitkyina from Mandalay, and the stops for I.Lake (Hopin) and for Katha (Naba). Can aslo bus from Mandalay to Katha. Not sure if you can continue by bus to Myitkyina as there is a checkpoint on the road at the Naba junction.

No permit is required, for the places you are allowed to go to.

Hey guys, thanks for the informational, I will go and get a train ticket tomorrow! ;)

How long does the train to Myitkina and the boat from Mandalay to Katha take?

The train from Mandalay to Myitkyina takes between 15 and 18 Hours, depending on which train you get. You can find the timetable for this service at Seat61.com Myanmar.

'Express' boat (xcept it makes lots of stops) departs Katha at 5am and is meant to arrive Mandalay at 7pm. ..mine got in just before 9pm.

Low river level plus morning and evening mists slow things down a bit. Have some warm clothes handy for the first few hours, can be rather cool till sun gets up and mist clears.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.