Myanmar’s indigenous orchids have drawn a strong interest abroad since the 19th Century. Of the 22,000 known species of orchids, 841 grow in Myanmar. The alpine range surrounding Hkakaborazi Razi, Southeast Asia’s tallest mountain, is home to a wide variety of orchids including the rare and elusive Paphiopedilum Wardii, more commonly known as the ‘black orchid,’ discovered and named after British botanist Francis Kingdon Ward in Myanmar’s Kachin State. The black orchid has been hunted by locals to be used in both traditional medicines, hosuehold gardens, and sold onward to collectors in the other parts of the country. Putao, the State’s northernmost town with a population of 10,000, is a restricted area. Limited and unreliable electricity, no internet, and being only accessible by air for most of the year, give the mountain village a truly isolated feeling, as if it were a separate country all together. Without any true tourist sites, Putao makes up for this with its natural beauty, ‘off the beaten path’ charm and the promise of spotting rare orchids.
