[gallery type="slideshow" ids="81822,81823,81824,81825,81826,81827,81828,81829,81830,81831"] INLE LAKE, Shan State — Southern Shan State’s Inle Lake is facing drought conditions this dry season that have seen many of the area’s waterways dry up. The picturesque lake, one of Burma’s most famous tourist attractions, has for years been suffering from a range of environmental problems such as drought, deforestation and pollution. The rapidly rising number of tourist visitors has led to an expansion of tourist infrastructure that adds to the pressures on the lake and its environs. Currently, though boating through the lake’s central reservoir remains possible, water levels are significantly lower at the villages of Ywa Ma and Nant Huu, located on the southwest end of the lake near the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, and at the waterway south to Nang Pan village. Water levels in the channel linking the lake to the tourist town of Nyaung Shwe and the entrance to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake’s most famous shrine, are down considerably but motorized boats are still able to pass through.