Inya Lake Hotel

The Inya Lake is an artificial lake created by the British as a water reservoir from1882 to 1883 in order to provide water supply in Yangon. The lake was formed by joining small hills that surrounded creeks that formed during the monsoonal season. A series of pipes and cables distribute water from Inya Lake to Kandawgyi Lake near downtown Yangon. Located on a 37-acre, verdant parcel, the Inya Lake hotel possesses a unique history. In an era of heightened tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, it became part of the Soviet's foreign policy to befriend third world countries like Myanmar [then known as Burma], especially as Myanmar in the late 1950ies governed by U Nu, was still a socialist country. In his 1958 state visit to Myanmar, Secretary General Nikita Khruschev presented the Government of Myanmar with three gifts; one of which was the Inya Lake hotel.