Inya Lake ( my, အင်းလျားကန်, ''ʔīnyā kǎn'' ; formerly, Lake Victoria) is the largest lake in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

(Myanmar), a popular recreational area for Yangonites, and a famous location for romance in popular culture. Located 6 miles (10 km) north of downtown Yangon, Inya Lake is bounded by Parami Road on the north, Pyay Road on the west, Inya Road on the southwest, University Avenue on the south, and

Kaba Aye Pagoda Kaba Aye Pagoda ( my, ကမ္ဘာအေးစေတီ; ; also spelt Gaba Aye Pagoda; lit. World Peace Pagoda), formally Thiri Mingala Gaba Aye Zedidaw, ), is a Buddhist pagoda located on Kaba Aye Road, Mayangon Township, Yangon, Myanm ...

Road on the east.

History

Inya Lake is an artificial lake created by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

as a water reservoir between 1882 and 1883 in order to provide a water supply to Yangon. The lake was formed by joining small hills that surrounded creeks which formed during the monsoon season. A series of pipes and cables distributes water from Inya Lake to

Kandawgyi Lake Kandawgyi Lake ( my, ကန်တော်ကြီး ; literally "great royal lake", formerly Royal Lake), is one of two major lakes in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar). Located east of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the lake is artificial; water from Inya Lake ...

near downtown Yangon. The Second Far East Regional Scout Conference was hosted by the University of Rangoon in 1960, with the First Far East Professional Scouters Training Conference held at '' Inyale Camp'' on Inya Lake as an ancillary event. On 16 March 1988, following the killing of two students during the pro-democracy demonstrations, students marching on Prome Road (now Pyay Road) were confronted near Inya Lake by the ''Lon Htein'' security force

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

and many beaten to death or drowned. On 4 May 2009, the American citizen John William Yettaw trespassed upon the shoreline

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

of Burmese political prisoner

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...

, at the time under house arrest. This was two weeks before her scheduled release on 27 May. They were both arrested after the incident.

Exclusive area

The area surrounding Inya Lake is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Yangon. Except for a public park on the southwestern bank by

Yangon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

, much of the shoreline is some of the most expensive private property in the country. Lakefront properties include residences of

, the late strongman Ne Win, and the

United States ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

. Public access to the lake is available through Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, and most popularly, through Inya Road and Pyay Road, next to Yangon University. It takes about two hours to circle the lake on foot.

Inya Lake Park

Located next to Yangon University, the 37-acre (15-hectare) park is most well known as a romantic dating area for the university students, and is chronicled many times over in Burmese popular culture (novels, movies, songs, etc.) Activities available to visitors include sailing and rowing. Yangon's premier sailing club is based on the lake.

References

External links

* {{osmrelation, 2641584
Morning Mist over Inya Lake

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

photos
Inya Lake Embankment Garden

photos Lakes of Myanmar Geography of Yangon Scouting and Guiding in Myanmar Tourist attractions in Yangon

History

Exclusive area

Inya Lake Park

References

Further reading

External links