Best Time To Travel To: Myanmar
Myanmar was previously called Burma. The country has a sizable coastline on the Bay of Bengal and behind it some higher mountains rise. The country is also bordered by Thailand to the east and India and China to the north. Parts of the country belong to the foothills of the Himalayas and the Chinese Yunnan Plateau.
Basically, Myanmar can primarily be described as a mountainous country. The main mountains run from north to south. In the north it is over 5,500 meters, otherwise the average height is a maximum of 2,500 meters.
In the center there is a plain where the great rivers Irrawaddy and Salween continue their way from the mountains of the north. The rivers arise on the plateaus because there is relatively high rainfall all year round. The area in the east, where the country borders on Thailand at higher altitudes, is also rainy.
Myanmar basically has a typically tropical monsoon climate. The period from November to April is cool and dry, the period from May to September / October is humid and warmer.
The dry season is determined by the northeast monsoon. The climatic differences are largely determined by the altitude at which you are.
A lot of rain falls in the higher regions in the east and north as well as on the coastal regions. The inland plains are relatively protected and receive comparatively little rain. Basically, the rain comes mainly during the southwest monsoon season, when almost 75% of the precipitation falls.
In the lowlands and on the coasts it is quite hot all year round. It normally gets warmest between March and May, before the rainy season sets in. It is colder at higher altitudes. However, you can only feel this cooler climate from an altitude of at least 1,200 meters. Everything under 1,000 - 1,200 meters has a hot tropical climate all year round.
For the middle altitudes of Myanmar one can take the climate table of Lashio as reasonably representative. For the central inland, the Mandalay table is quite typical.
From November to April it is relatively dry across the country. Then the dry northeast monsoon prevails and it is very sunny throughout the country. It is coolest in the interior and in the north. Above all, the locations above 1,200 meters are always relatively cooler than the lower lying country.
The period from October to February is usually mentioned as the best time for Myanmar.
