There are more than 300 villages on and around Inlay lake, where more than 16000 households live (i.e. about 100000 inhabitants). The biggest village, which is also one of the original four villages of the lake, is called Haiya Ywama. It's often called just Ywama, which means "downtown". In ancient manuscripts, it was referred to as In-Myo or "the city of the lake". It occupies a central location on the eastern shore of the lake. Ywama has about 700 houses, most built on stilts: woven split bamboo canes laced together make the walls, which are topped by a thatched/layered roof of banana leaves.

A little bit further south, near Tha Lay village, stands the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Burma. The pagoda houses 2 Buddha images from the 12th century. They've been gilded by so many little gold leaves that they totally lost their original shape: they now look like little golden balls!