Hpa An and Saddan Cave

February 2016

Hpa An is a small town, around 4-5 hours from Yangon by bus.  It's on the other side of the Gulf of Martaban, an arm of the Andaman Sea.    So to get there by road you've got to go first northeast and then southeast.  In the old bus we took, it was a long ride.  Hpa An is in Karen State (now called Kayin State).  The Karen people have been engaged in ongoing conflict with the government of Myanmar for many many years, and we wondered if we would see any evidence of that, but all was quiet when we were there.

We didn't spend much time in the town itself - just the time it took to find transport to the places we wanted to see, but we did see several things of interest - a man wearing a traditional Karen hat, and a pan seller making up the wads of pan that so many locals chew here.  The resulting red spit is everywhere. 

A Karen man, with his distinctive hat

A busy pan seller - like many Asians, many Burmese chew - and spit - pan

Saddan Cave

 

Our main reason for going to Hpa An was to see Saddan Cave, one of many Buddhist cave temples in the area.  Getting there was half the fun.  We took an small open-sided truck, perched on little plastic stools with about six other ‘passengers’ – all locals.  The countryside we traveled through was spectacular.  

Sitting in the back of the mini-truck

Nearing the cave

 

The cave is named after Saddan, the king of elephants who lived nearby. 

There’s a wonderful elephant gate and set of stairs leading up to the narrow entrance to the cave.  

 

Once inside the cave opens up into a very large grotto, filled with hundreds of little Buddha statues.  

 

There are also massive stalactites, and carvings in the walls.

 

Beyond the initial grotto the cave narrows, continuing on for another 300 feet to its exit, where there’s a large lake.  According to Karen legends, this is Saddan’s bathing lake.  It’s a beautiful serene spot, ringed by rocky cliffs, and full of flowering lilies.  

 

There’s another cave across the lake, this one flooded.  There were several boatmen in canoes offering to take tourists across the lake and through the smaller flooded cave.  We took one and enjoyed a dark and quiet ride - too dark for photos....

Water for the thirsty - we brought our own....

The cave's caretaker, having a little nap

For more information on Saddan Cave go to:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddan_Cave

or read more about it at:  https://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/hpa-an/attractions/saddan-cave/a/poi-sig/1371917/1335726

For more information on Karen State and the ongoing conflict between the Karen people and the government of Myanmar go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_conflict