The '''Burma Road''' was built during World War II to bring supplies through Burma (now called Myanmar) to beleaguered China, to help them resist the Japanese invasion.

The actual Burma Road was largely built by the Chinese themselves — 160,000 workers with almost no equipment hacking a road out of the mountains of Western Yunnan, from Kunming to Lashio, starting in 1937. Lashio was connected by rail to Rangoon (now called Yangon) where supplies were brought in by sea. Travelers on today's Yunnan tourist trail cover some of this route, albeit on far newer and better roads. Traces of the old road, including some milestones, are still visible.

The Burmese part of the Burma road is short, from the border town Ruili to Lashio, and can be traversed only one way (Ruili to Lashio) and only under escort.

The Ledo Road, which linked to the Burma Road, was originally built by the British and Indians, starting in the 1920s, and heavily upgraded during the war. It ran from Ledo in Assam over the mountains to Lashio. After the Japanese drove into Burma and took Rangoon, this became an essential route for the allies. It is sometimes called the Stilwell Road because it was championed by American General Joe Stilwell.

Traveling the Ledo Road today is nearly impossible. The four hundred kilometers between the border with India (near Pangsau Pass) and Myitkyina is off-limits to foreigners. The road itself had mostly returned to the jungle but has been rebuilt, allegedly with forced Naga and Kachin labor, in recent years. The Myanmar junta is in the process of converting this section into an all weather section for trade with India. The Indian section of the road, from Ledo to Nampong on the Ledo road is also a restricted area.

There was a good deal of fighting in the area by British, Indian, and African troops under General Slim and Colonel Wingate, and Americans and Chinese under Generals Stillwell and Wedemeyer, battling Japanese forces that held much of Burma and at one point even threatened India. Keeping the road open was an important Allied objective. Once the US entered the war, US Army Engineers did extensive work on both the Ledo Road and the Burma Road.

The alternative to the road was "flying the hump", which was taking supply planes from airports around Calcutta to Kunming over parts of the Himalayas. This was done by American pilots at great risk. Another Allied objective in Burma was to knock out bases used by Japanese fighters harassing the hump flyers. Today "The Hump" is a popular tourist bar in Kunming.

=See= In the event that sections of the road open up to travelers, the following are some of the highlights along the Ledo Road and the Burma Road.

  • Nampong is a border town in the Indian state of Assam
  • '''Pangsau Pass''', just inside the Indo-Burma border, 3727 feet in height.
  • Pangsau is the first town on the Burmese side.
  • '''The Lake of No Return''' near Pangsau
  • '''Myitkyina''', in the Kachin State, is open to travelers and is connected by road, rail, air, and ferry from Mandalay.
  • '''Bhamo''', also in the Kachin State, is open to travelers.
  • '''Namkham''', a village in the Northern Shan State in Burma. Travel to Namkham is currently restricted and a permit (almost impossible to get) is required from Yangon.
  • '''Kunming'''