Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHIN STATE
Squeezed in between Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Indian states of Mizoram and Ma-
nipur, remote and impoverished
Chin State
is one of Myanmar's least explored regions,
with thick jungles, mountainous terrain and only rudimentary infrastructure. The state's
500,000 or so Chin inhabitants are among Myanmar's most persecuted minorities. Large
numbersconvertedtoChristianity duringcolonialtimes,andhavesufferedwidespreadop-
pression from the 1960s through to the present day, with forced labour, torture, rape, acute
food shortages and extra-judicial executions widely reported - as well as attempts to for-
cibly reconvert Chin Christians to Buddhism.
Foreigners requirea
governmentpermit
andtheservices ofa
licensedguide
tovisitany
part of the state - allow at least a month to arrange the necessary paperwork. Inside Chin
State, the only place even slightly on the tourist radar is
NatMaTaung
(aka
MountVict-
oria
), most easily accessible from Bagan. Rising from dense forests, the upper reaches of
the mountain form a so-called “sky island”, with alpine plant and bird species characterist-
ic of the Himalaya, along with other local endemic flora and fauna. Trips cost a minimum
of around $1000 for two people for a four-night visit - the minimum timescale you'll need
tomakethelongdrivefromBaganandthentackletheall-daytrekuptothe3053msummit
and back down again.
Easier ways of meeting Chin people include visiting the
Chin villages
in
Rakhine State
near Mrauk U, or flying into the half-Bamar, half-Chin town of
Kalaymyo
(aka Kalay),
in Sagaing Province, served by intermittent flights from Yangon and Mandalay. The
Chin
people
are covered in more detail in Contexts.
Monywa and around
Sitting on the Chindwin River around 130km west of Mandalay and a similar distance north
ofBagan,thelargetownof
MONYWA
(pronouncedastwosyllablessomethinglike“Moan-
ywa”) is of minimal interest in itself but makes a handy base for visits to several fine at-
tractions in the surrounding countryside. These include the gigantic Buddha figures at
Maha
BodhiTataung
, the quirky
ThanboddhayPagoda
and the hillside cave shrines of
PhoWin
Taung
.
