Best Time to Visit Myanmar

Three seasons, two very different regions

Myanmar has a cool dry season, a hot season and a rainy season. For most people, the cool season from November to February is the best time to go. Days are warm but comfortable, and the skies are mostly clear. That's when temples like Shwedagon in Yangon and the plains of Bagan feel easiest to enjoy.

The south and the middle of the country don't get the same rain. Yangon is soaked in the monsoon, and July is its wettest month at 358 mm. Mandalay sits in the central dry zone, so its wettest month, June, brings only 57 mm. If you hate wet weather but still want to travel in the rainy months, the Mandalay and Bagan area is your best bet.

The hot months

April is the hottest month in all three cities, Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, at 39°C. It's a tie, and you'll feel it. Afternoons are too hot for temple steps in bare feet, so plan your sightseeing around early mornings and late evenings. Nay Pyi Taw, the capital, is spread out and has wide roads, so you'll want a car there.

Mid-April also brings Thingyan, the water festival that marks the new year. Streets fill with water fights and music. It's great fun, but banks and many shops close for several days, and buses and trains get very full. Book transport well before you go if you want to be there.

High and low season

High season runs from November to February. Mandalay is best in December and January, while Yangon is best in November and December. Nay Pyi Taw is pleasant from November to January. Hotels in Bagan and around Inle Lake fill up, so you'll find the most visitors there. The full moon of Tazaungmone in November brings lantern and balloon festivals, including a famous one in Taunggyi.

The rainy season, roughly June to October, is the quiet time. Prices drop, sights are calmer, and the countryside turns green. Roads can flood in the south, though, and some river and rural trips get slow. Expect showers rather than all-day rain in the centre, and heavy downpours in Yangon.