Myitkyina Travel Guide

Myitkyina is the capital of Kachin State, Myanmar. The population of the town is around 150,000 and includes a healthy ethnic mix of Bamar, Kachin, and Indian people.

A sleepy backwater town today, Myitkyina was the site of a bitter battle between Japanese and Allied forces during the Second World War. The town was almost completely destroyed in the battle. The location of the town, in an opportunistic valley between India and China, made it strategic enough to be on the Ledo Road built by the US General Joseph Stilwell. If Myanmar ever gets its act together, Myitkyina could, one day, become an important way station for trade between the two Asian giants, India and China. For now, Myitkyina is a destination because of the journey (by rail from Mandalay and then by ferry back to Mandalay via Bhamo) and because it is a staging point for trips to Indawgyi Lake and Putao.

You can enjoy Myitikyina between Late October and early February; it's a mild season. In other seasons you may find raining and heat and may not convenient to you.