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Inle Lake (Burmese: အင်းလေးကန်, pronounced: [ʔɪ́ɴlé kàɴ]) is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 44.9 square miles (116 km²), and one of the highest at an altitude of 2,900 feet (880 m). During the dry season, the average water depth is 7 feet (2.1 m), with the deepest point being 12 feet (3.7 m), but during the rainy season this can increase by 5 feet (1.5 m).

The watershed area for the lake lies to a large extent to the north and west of the lake. The lake drains through the Nam Pilu or Balu Chaung on its southern end. There is a hot spring on its northwestern shore.

Although the lake is not large, it contains a number of endemic species. Over twenty species of snails and nine species of fish are found nowhere else in the world. Some of these, like the silver-blue scaleless Sawbwa barb, the crossbanded dwarf danio, and the Lake Inle danio, are of minor commercial importance for the aquarium trade. It hosts approximately 20,000 brown and black head migratory seagulls in November, December and January.

The Intha (Burmese: အင်းသားလူမျိုး; MLCTS: ang: sa: lu. myui:, IPA: [ɪ́ɴðá lùmjóʊ]; lit. "sons of the lake") are members of a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group living around Inle Lake. They speak an archaic dialect of Burmese, and are believed to have come from the Dawei area. They often live on Inle Lake, and support themselves through the tending of vegetable farms on floating gardens. Also, the Intha are known for their leg-rowing techniques, and are traditionally Buddhists.

The people of Inle Lake (called Intha), some 70,000 of them, live in four cities bordering the lake, in numerous small villages along the lake's shores, and on the lake itself. The entire lake area is in Nyaung Shwe township. The population consists predominantly of Intha, with a mix of other Shan, Taungyo, Pa-O (Taungthu), Danu, Kayah, Danaw and Bamar ethnicities. Most are devout Buddhists, and live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo on stilts; they are largely self-sufficient farmers.

A paddle is a tool used for pushing against liquids, either as a form of propulsion in a boat or as an implement for mixing.

Artisan fishing is any kind of small-scale, low-technology, commercial or subsistence fishing practices, particularly those of coastal or island ethnic groups using traditional techniques such as rod and tackle, arrows and harpoons, throw nets and drag nets, and traditional fishing boats. Artisan fishing contrasts with large-scale modern commercial fishing practices in that it is often, but not always, less intensive and less stressful on fish populations than modern industrial fishing.

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish.

Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men and women. Fishing has existed as a means of obtaining food since the Mesolithic period.

Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled by human power. The three main methods of collecting human power are directly from the hands or feet, through the hands with oars, paddles, or poles or through the feet with pedals and a crank or treadle. While most human-powered watercraft use buoyancy to maintain their position relative to the surface of the water, a few, such as human-powered hydrofoils and human-powered submarines use hydrofoils, either alone or in addition to buoyancy.