Sadan Cave

Sadan Caves is a Buddhist cave temple with hundreds of little and large Buddha statues. Inside the massive entrance hall, there are even some pagodas. A reclining Buddha statue and a natural rock with a Buddha face are highlights. To enter the temple, you must remove your shoes and leave them at the entrance. This isn't a major deal on the temple's tiled floor, but the display cave begins at the temple's end.

A concrete path with iron fence descends down a main passage teeming with bats. The bat guano has made the floor damp and slick.

It takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes to walk through Sadan Caves. Although the temple is beautifully illuminated, the cave behind it can be dimly lit at times, so carry a lamp. A modest jetty with wooden canoes is located at the cave's far end. The boats will take you back to the gate for a charge.

The journey back is almost as interesting as the journey forward. The boats return via a river cave that joins two lakes on opposing sides of the karst tower. A sheer rock face with a black ledge at the bottom may be seen from the jetty.

Location: Hpa-An, Myanmar