Background

Location & Geography

Myanmar is the Mekong’s largest (676,677 square kilometres) and western-most country, bordered by China’s Yunnan province, Laos and Thailand on the east and India and Bangladesh to the west, with over 2,800 kilometres of coastline along the Indian Ocean to the south and west.

The country can be divided into the Western Hills, the Central Valley and the Eastern Hills. The Himalayans are linked with Myanmar by the Western Yoma Range, which separates the country from India. The Central Valley consists of the Ayeyarwady’s broadest valley, and the Eastern Hills is dominated by the Shan Plateau.

The Ayeyarwady River, which runs alongside the Mekong River at Yunnan’s “Three Parallel Rivers”, is Myanmar’s main artery travelling some 2,000 kilometres to the southern coast. The Ayeyarwady Basin covers the central part of the country, and is surrounded by Rakhine, Chin and Naga Mountains, the Kachin Hills and the Shan Plateau.

Nature

Ecotourism is encouraged by Myanmar, and there are a number of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries for trekking. The most popular are Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park located northwest of Monywa, Hlawga National Park near Yangon and known for bird watching, forested Popa Mountain Park in an extinct volcano in central Myanmar, Lampi Island off Myeik Archipelago, Kawthaung Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary located in Minbu, Inlay Bird Sanctuary and Sein Ye Forest Camp.

Due to its diverse topography, Myanmar’s flora ranges from sub-alpine forests in the north to thorn forests in the central region to tropical rain forests in the south and mangroves in the delta area. Some 300 mammal species, 300 reptiles and 1,000 bird species have been recorded in Myanmar.

Climate

Myanmar has three seasons: the monsoon or rainy season is from May to October, the cool season from November to February and the hot season from March to May. The average temperature ranges from 32°C in the central and lower areas to 21°C in the northern highlands.