Malikha Lodge Hotel,Putao — Hotel in Putao District

My husband and I have been trying to visit Myanmar for the last twelve years and finally in March we arrived there.It was well worth the wait. We decided to go to Putao since it is off the beaten track and even though it took three extra flights from Yangon to get there we are happy we made the effort. We needed to get a government permit since there has been some political issues in the Kachin state; but that is also why it seemed so untouched and unspoiled.When we entered the Malikha Lodge and saw the outstanding view of the Nam Lang River with the Himalayas in the distance we knew we had made the right choice. ||Happily we could have stayed on the deck all day sipping Myanmar beer and eating their delicious appetizer of tiny Putao potatoes but our thatched roof bungalow was waiting...and it was a jungle hut on steroids. A large well planned hut with towering ceilings and a giant round teak bathtub in the center that you could close off with long white curtains. The bed was fantastic...and after so many hours in the air.....we never had a moment of jet lag once we arrived here. The air is cooler at night; so unlike other parts of Myanmar it was perfect sleeping weather.||Our first afternoon we took a fun elephant trek near the river and the rice paddies and the next day we rafted down the river. Floating down the river for four hours you get a chance to see villagers washing their clothes , water buffalo coming down for a drink , and the young children fishing . It was both relaxing and informative and our wonderful river guide Gopal shared stories of his own youth growing up in Nepal. Deepak our other great guide here and Gopal are childhood friends and it is truly their enthusiasm and knowledge of the Putao villages that made our stay at Malikha Lodge so unique. One day we walked nine miles to an absolutely idyllic jungle village with beautiful woven stilt homes and overflowing with adorable smiling children playing in the sand roads. It was a hot walk but never a boring one....as we traveled through rice paddies and other small villages. ||We came back to our hut for lovely massages and the next morning we woke very early after another great night sleep and went off to the local market with Deepak. Wow.....I have been to many markets; but the ones in Myanmar are extra colorful and full of some interesting natural medicines and even baby pigs in straw baskets.That afternoon our flight out of Putao was cancelled ( there are not a lot of flights in or out of Putao); but we ended up having lunch at a local restaurant across from the market and watched the Putao world go by. It was a perfect ending to a perfect visit.....and they even served those tiny Putao potatoes with our Myanmar beer.||p.s. I would have given the Malikha lodge five stars; but the food could use a little help. The lodge is remote , beautiful, and expensive; and there is plenty of organic vegetables , rice, pork, and chicken to be had.....but they need to cook a little lighter and have a little more variety. Also, we were the only real paying guests there when we visited...there were government people and some workers; but no other tourists. The chairman of the hotel was coming for a ceremony involving a new pagoda and there was a lot of excitement getting ready for him to arrive. Overall Malikha Lodge is just a little short of five stars.....and we definitely would return. Thank you Deepak...

This is my fifth visit to Myanmar and I wanted to try something different and opted for a visit to Putao. The trip involves a three part plane journey from Yangon but it is well worth the effort.||There are not many tourist accommodation options and Malikha Lodge is certainly not a cheap one. However, it is is in a fantastic setting with views from the platform outside the restaurant out towards the snow capped mountains which you can see on a clear day.||The accommodation is in thatched bungalows set along the river with their own wonderful views. The food was good.||The hotel offers a few white water rafting and trekking options which I did not use on this occasion.||Putao is a beautiful small town with friendly people. There are some government restrictions as to where tourists can go but there is still plenty to see from the trekking areas where you can visit. For those with the time and money who want to see nature at its best, I would certainly recommend. |It is certainly not inundated with tourists at present. There were only two of us in the Lodge and there were probably 3 other tourists on the plane up. The think you can only get thereby plane and so you are in the hands of the local airlines as to when you can get...

This hotel is well built and the hotel ground is very well maintained. We didn't stay there that's because we couldn't afford to, but the hotel accepts outside visitors with an entrance fee of 10,000 MMK pp. The view of the river from the hotel ground was breathtaking. The hotel served us nice green tea with biscuits. Don't try to drink grapefruit juice if you are not prepared to pay 5 USD for a glass. We were taken a tour to a bungalow where a room is charged c.400 USD per night which is very very expensive for the area. As much as I enjoyed the amazing view of River Malikha from the hotel ground, I am only giving 2 stars to this hotel because 1) they have two young bears locked up in cages where they don't belong to. The poor bears looked so stressful in the cages and I wish I could release them back to the jungle. 2) the hotel is ridiculously expensive for what it is. 3) The hotel didn't put commercial tax stamps on the receipts for entrance fees and drinks we had. When we asked the cashier, she said they haven't got one. This means they would be able to evade paying taxes to the government. This shows the ethical standards of the Hotel. I will never go back...