The best place to do trekking around the Shan state, Kalaw was a popular hill station in the British days and remains a peaceful and quiet place. It also has cool and pleasant summertime weather as it is at an altitude of 1320m. Situated about 3.5 hours south of Mandalay by car, the main attraction of Kalaw is the town itself and its mock-Tudor colonial bungalows, its ethnic mix of people, and it is setting within trekking distance of many ethnic minority villages.