Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Midas Tümülüsü (Tumulus MM)
The Devil's Column
Weightlifting Hall of Fame
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
2 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
3 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
5 days ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Myanmar (Burma) Hpa-An Saddar Cave

Saddar Cave

Caves full of Buddhist statues, incredible rock formations and a deserted lagoon.

Hpa-An, Myanmar (Burma)

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Buddhist statues dominate the entrance   Jack Goodman
Buddhist statues dominate the entrance   Jack Goodman
Stairway leading to Saddar Caves   Jack Goodman
A view back onto Karen State   Jack Goodman
The entrance to Saddar Caves   Jack Goodman
Buddhist statues   Jack Goodman
A huge stalagmite   Jack Goodman
Sun shines down through a crack on the rock   Jack Goodman
Out onto a beautiful lagoon   Jack Goodman
Fishermen at work   Jack Goodman
  Pericles Rosa / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Like other sacred sites in Myanmar's Zwegabin mountain range, Saddar Cave has been decorated with hundreds of Buddhist statues over the years. 

The landscape around the small town of Hpa'an in Karen State, Myanmar, combines lush open fields and single, bulbous mountains. At the bottom of one such mountain is a steep staircase, painted white. Once at the top, a narrow path leads you into the Saddar Cave, hollowed out of the rock. Buddhist statues, like road signs of all different shapes and sizes, beckon visitors into the darkness.

Hundreds of miniature golden icons not much bigger than playing cards form a mosaic onto the righthand side of the cave. You'll pass a pagoda about the size of a small van and the light then weakens. Visitors must remove their shoes. Only then does the stench of bat droppings fill the nostrils. Sometimes you can hear the bats shriek. 

Inside the mountain, the painted faces of Buddhist sculptures occasionally flicker into view as you wander through the darkness. Karen State is famous for its Buddhist sites, but Saddar Cave is truly a natural wonder, as well as a holy place.

Flash photography illuminates stalactites dripping from the ceiling and stalagmites rise up from the ground, formed over centuries. In one section of the cave a ray of sunshine beams down directly onto one of the largest stalagmites. 

The path ends at the entrance to open water, where a local boatman armed with a paddle next to a flat wooden canoe will continue your journey out of the cave and out onto a pristine blue lagoon. Paddle around and watch fisherman source their lunch against a backdrop of the limestone rock face.

Related Tags

Caves Statues Buddhism Rock Formations Mountains Ecosystems

Know Before You Go

The Soe Brothers Hostel in Hpa'an arranges travel to Saddar Caves.

Community Contributors

Edited By

hrnick, Pericles Rosa, Meg

  • hrnick
  • Pericles Rosa
  • Meg

Published

July 5, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.travelfish.org/sight_profile/burma_myanmar/southern_burma_myanmar/kayin_state/hpa-an/2226
  • http://www.travelphotoreport.com/2012/12/06/saddar-cave-hell-on-earth-lonely-planet/
  • https://www.7continents1passport.com/myanmar-travel-costs-per-destinationday/
Saddar Cave
Unnamed Road
Hpa-An
Myanmar (Burma)
16.742026, 97.716595
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Win Sein Taw Ya

Mawlamyine, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda

Thaton District, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Shwethalyaung Buddha of Bago

Bago, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar (Burma)

Asia

Places 33
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Win Sein Taw Ya

Mawlamyine, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda

Thaton District, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Shwethalyaung Buddha of Bago

Bago, Myanmar (Burma)

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar (Burma)

Asia

Places 33
Stories 5

Related Stories and Lists

The Most Curious and Fascinating Places We Came Across This Week

list

By Meg Neal

Related Places

  • Mythical canaries adorning the ceremonial hall.

    Tambon Pong Ngam, Thailand

    Wat Tham Pla

    A Buddhist shrine in a cave protected by macaques next to dark passages lined with creepy paintings.

  • A pagoda at Mogao Caves.

    Jiuquan, China

    Mogao Caves

    Hundreds of caves filled with thousands of centuries-old statues and murals.

  • The view from Pahiyangala cave.

    Gavaragiriya, Sri Lanka

    Fa-Hien Lena (Pahiyangala Cave)

    The remains of a 37,000-year-old prehistoric society were discovered in this mammoth cave, one of the largest in Asia.

  • Pak Ou’s Caves

    Pak Ou, Laos

    Pak Ou's Caves

    Thousands of effigies of Buddha watch from caves set high above a legendary river, plus whiskey.

  • Longmen Grottoes

    Luoyang, China

    Longmen Grottoes

    The field of tiny caves that mark this Chinese cliffside are each their own historic Buddhist temple.

  • A massive seated Buddha is carved into a rock face.

    Tianshui, China

    Bingling Temple

    A hidden Buddhist gem accessible only by boat.

  • Mine, Japan

    Akiyoshido Cave

    Approximately 300 million years ago, a massive coral reef existed in what is now the largest limestone cave in Japan.

  • The okumiya or “inner shrine” of Zeniarai Benten.

    Kamakura, Japan

    Zeniarai Benten Shrine

    It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.