Walking/Biking Around Hsipaw / သီပေါ / သီႇပေႃႉ (Slideshow)

Hsipaw / သီပေါ / သီႇပေႃ, also known as Thibaw, is the principal town of Hsipaw Township in Shan State, Myanmar on the banks of the Duthawadi River. It is 200 km (124 mi) north-east of Mandalay. Hsipaw State was perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha Shan States and the Sawbwas of Hsipaw lived in the Shan Palace at the northern end of the town.

Every day, a train makes it laborious way up from Mandalay, via steep hills and a breathtaking gorge, to Hsipaw (and onward to Lashio). One of the 'must do' railway journeys of the world, the railway line between Pyin u Lwin and Hsipaw is a masterpiece of British engineering, designed primarily to bring trade (and thus control) to the Northern Shan State, an important ally of the British after the conquest of Upper Burma.

The train from Mandalay to Hsipaw takes 11 hours and costs less that 2000Ky or 4000Ky First Class, if you buy in the train station.The train leave at 4am. The journey from Pyin oo Lwin to Hsipaw takes seven hours and costs Kyat 2750 First Class (Upper Class) or Kyat 1200 Second Class (Ordinary Class). Many travelers do the Pyin oo Lwin (Maymyo) to Hsipaw section one way and return by road (7 hours by train, 4 hours by road). Lashio is four hours from Hsipaw by train. The train from Hsipaw to Mandalay (and Pyin Oo Lwin) leaves at 09:40 and arrives in Mandalay at 22:40 (to Pyin Oo Lwin at around 16:00).