A Burmese monk carrying a bamboo-and-paper parasol walks towards the monastery (at right) in the small town of Ywama, on Lake Inle, Shan State, Burma. Lake Inle lies at 2,952 feet (900 m) above sea level on the Shan Plateau, an extensive region of high mountain ranges crisscrossed by streams and the Salween River. It is a shallow mountain lake that contains several islands and is fed by mountain streams..