Loikaw

Loikaw
လွိုင်ကော်မြို့
Lwègaw[1]
Town
Loikaw
Location in Burma
Coordinates: 19°40′27″N 97°12′34″E / 19.67417°N 97.20944°E / 19.67417; 97.20944
Country  Myanmar
Division  Kayah State
District Loikaw
Township Loikaw
Elevation 2,900 ft (884 m)
Population (2013) 140 670
Time zone UTC+6.30 (MST)

Loikaw (Burmese: လွိုင်ကော်မြို့; MLCTS: lwing kaw mrui., pronounced [lwàikɔ̀ mjo̰]) is the capital of Kayah State in Myanmar. It is located in the Karen Hills area, near the State's northern tip, just above an embayment on the Pilu River.[2] The inhabitants are mostly Kayah (Karenni). Myanmar's largest hydropower plant built (by the Japanese as war reparation) is located about 20 km east of Loikaw at Lawpita Falls.

History

Loikaw was the Headquarters of the Political Officer in Charge of the Karenni States, part of the Princely States of British Burma, in 1922 during British rule in Burma. The town was located in the only flat part of the Karenni area. In 1892 it numbered four huts. As an Agent of the British government he was exercising control over the local Karenni Rulers, being supervised by the Superintendent at Taunggyi.[3] The headquarters of the American Baptist Mission to Hill Karens was also located in Loikaw.

Landscape of Loikaw in 1922. The bridges look flimsy, but were so substantial that elephants walked over them.
View of Taung Kwe Pagoda.

Population history

  • 1983: 33,665
  • 2013: 140,670[4]

Climate

Climate data for Loikaw
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 26
(79)		 29
(84)		 32
(90)		 34
(93)		 31
(88)		 28
(82)		 27
(81)		 27
(81)		 28
(82)		 28
(82)		 27
(81)		 26
(79)		 29
(84)
Average low °C (°F) 11
(52)		 11
(52)		 15
(59)		 19
(66)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 19
(66)		 16
(61)		 12
(54)		 17
(63)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 8
(0.31)		 3
(0.12)		 7
(0.28)		 50
(1.97)		 178
(7.01)		 222
(8.74)		 251
(9.88)		 289
(11.38)		 236
(9.29)		 151
(5.94)		 51
(2.01)		 14
(0.55)		 1,460
(57.48)
Average rainy days 2 1 2 5 17 23 25 26 21 14 6 3 145
Mean monthly sunshine hours 279 280 310 270 217 150 124 124 150 186 210 248 2,548
Source: World Climate Guide

Transport

Air

Loikaw is linked to Yangon and Mandalay by air.

Rail

Loikaw is linked by the newly constructed Aungban-Pinlong-Loikaw rail line.

Buses

There are express buses from loikaw to Yangon, Mandalay and other towns.

Education

The town is home to Loikaw University, Technological University, Loikaw, Computer University, Loikaw.

Health care

Loikaw General Hospital serves not only locals in the state but also to those in the southern part of neighbouring Shan State. The existing buildings of the hospital were built in 1964. Due to increase demands, new two two-storey buildings were constructed with the 1.945 billion yen funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).[5]

Naung Yah Lake
Lawpita Fall

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lwègaw (Variant)" Loikaw at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  2. ↑ Bitsch, Jørgen (1966) Why Buddha Smiles Taplinger Publishing, New York, pages 55-56, OCLC 421824
  3. ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 36.
  4. ↑ "City Population: Myanmar". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "Loikaw to get new hospital buildings funded by JICA - Global New Light Of Myanmar". Global New Light Of Myanmar. 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
  • Media related to Loikaw at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 19°40′27″N 97°12′33″E / 19.67417°N 97.20917°E / 19.67417; 97.20917


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