Mogok

Mogok sits in a high valley whose marble-hosted deposits have produced rubies for centuries, and the stones from here set the standard by which others are described. The town runs entirely on the trade: open workings on the hillsides, washing plants along the streams, and a morning gem market where dealers examine stones in daylight on the pavement. Access for foreign visitors requires a permit obtained in advance, and the rules on where you can and cannot go change, so this is a trip arranged rather than improvised.

What you actually see

• The gem markets - dealers examining rough and cut stones in daylight, in the mornings.
• The workings - open-pit and tunnel mines on the hillsides around the town.
• The washing - gravel processed and picked over along the streams and at the plants.
• The valley - a high bowl of hills, cooler and greener than the plain below.

When to go

November to February is the dry season and the most comfortable. The monsoon makes the mountain road difficult and the workings muddy. Markets run in the morning and are over by midday.

Honest expectations

The permit is the deciding factor and it has to be arranged well ahead through an agency; without it you will be turned back. Buying stones here without expertise is a poor idea, and export rules on gems are strict. Some areas remain closed to visitors and a local guide is required.

Nearby

Mandalay is a long half-day south, and Hsipaw is east across the Shan hills.