Best Time to Visit Mandalay

November to February: the cool, dry season

This is the sweet spot. December and January are the best months, with highs around 31°C and cool, clear mornings. Nights can dip to 15°C in January, so you'll want a light jacket for sunrise.

Days are dry and sunny, which suits the big sights. Climb Mandalay Hill for sunset, watch the monks line up at Mahagandayon Monastery, and walk across the teak U Bein Bridge in Amarapura. Day trips to Inwa, Sagaing and Mingun are easy and pleasant.

This is also high season. Expect more visitors at the bridge and hill at sunset, and book popular hotels earlier than usual. February is still good, and November is fair but a little warmer.

March to May: the heat builds

March is hot but manageable, at 36°C. April is the hottest month, with highs of 39°C and warm nights. Rain is light, but the sun is fierce in the middle of the day.

If you come now, treat the afternoons like a siesta. See temples early, then rest in your hotel or in a shaded teahouse. Sightseeing between noon and 4 pm is hard work.

April brings Thingyan, the Burmese New Year water festival. Streets fill with people throwing water, and it's a joyful way to cool off. Many shops and offices close for several days, and transport gets busy. Mandalay's celebrations are among the country's biggest, with stages and dancing along the moat.

May is the odd one out. It's still hot, but the first rains turn humid and stormy.

June to October: the rainy season

From June to September, it rains on most days, with 17 wet days in both June and August. Mandalay is in a drier part of Myanmar, so the totals aren't huge. But the sky is grey, with barely an hour of sun a day in July and August. It's sticky, too.

The upside is quiet streets, lower prices and green countryside. Rain often comes in short bursts, so you can still visit pagodas and museums between showers. Dirt roads around Mingun can get muddy.

October is a fair month, with fewer wet days and more sun. In October, Thadingyut, the festival of lights, marks the end of Buddhist Lent. Homes and pagodas glow with lanterns and candles, and it's a lovely time to be in town.

If you want one simple plan, go in December or January. Prefer fewer people? Try November or early February.