The Palaung hill tribe is famous for the tea they grow and cure to sell, and plantations hug the hillsides of the Shan State in northern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The tea is revered as a divine gift. The small green leaf also provides an economic lifeline for the remote villages.
Legend states that a Burmese king named Alaungsithu bestowed the Palaung tribe with tea seeds centuries ago, and legend arising from that has led to today’s common name for tea in Palaung, ‘lahpet’ (spelled various ways). To this day, the roots of tea plants from these original seeds dig into the sides of the surrounding mountains.
Beautiful scenery on the hills surrounding Hsipaw
Cool looking trucks climbing the hill
Kids in the villages
Hsipaw is the best place to base yourself if you want to trek to the hill tribes of Shan State in northern Myanmar. Hsipaw can be reached by train from Mandalay. The journey is slow but passes over the spectacular Gokteik Viaduct and is billed as a “must-do” railway journey. Several guesthouses in Hsipaw can arrange guides and provide maps.
Take my picture too…
Kids come from all sides of the village to see what is going on
Ladies at work at tea plantation
Gathering firewood is important for cooking
The first glimpse of our overnight stay at local village
Showing of new pencils
The nights get really cold. It was around 2 degrees Celsius during the night.
Early in the morning they spread the tea to dry in the daily sun.
Spreading our the tea on the street
Sorting the tea
Kids going to school