Myanmar

Exploring the Caves of Southern Myanmar


Somewhere deep in the jungles of southern Burma, Keith Lyons An inaccessible cave system has been discovered.photo by david van drisch.

On a recent trip to the destination in southern Myanmar, two things were not clear: the location of the unnamed cave, and even how long it would take.

I was led to believe that it only required a short boat trip from the Andaman Sea coastal town that borders Martaban Bay, and a few steps into the cave. I thought in less than an hour or so myself, travel veteran Bjorn Burchard, and backcountry photographer David Van Driessche would be back in the air-conditioned comfort of a Toyota Alphard, how I don’t like that word—”ticked that from Kawthaung North to Yangon bus driver holiday, off our bucket list.

A local guide sits on rough limestone under a natural arch in the middle of a jungle cave system.

So when we finally finished our tour, we had good reason to be dissatisfied. My hiking pants were ripped with a tear from the crotch to the ankle that couldn’t be repaired. My hand was scratched by the unforgiving rock, and I still had a nasty splinter embedded in my foot. I’m dehydrated, hungry and tired. I am not registered for this.

Am I complaining? No. Am I a happy camper? Yes. how come? I just explored a little-known cave that, despite the many karst systems around Hpa-an and Mawlamyine that have been documented since 1827, nearby residents don’t even know it exists. As far as we know, we were the first foreigners to go in.

The day started with an uncomfortable ride in a leaky longtail boat. We wore farmhouse bamboo coolie hats and SPF 30+ “White Man’s Thanks” as we sweated in the May heat and squinted into the dazzling water. I went into a zen-like doze off, trying to shake off the pain in my buttocks.

cave stem
Local Burmese follow the progression of plant stems from the cave floor to the outside of the cave.

I picture myself traveling down the Mississippi with Huckleberry Finn, but, instead, the “Duelling Banjo” theme from Deliverance is playing in my head. As we drive along the meandering olive-green river, the mesmerizing scenery overwhelms me, and the soundtrack switches to a slow dirge, My Soul. Instead of worrying about what lay ahead, I focused on the flat terrain of the river, and beyond the fields of rice, sugarcane, and corn, rugged jungle limestone hills rose, some—if you squint and tilt your head to one side—look It looks like a reclining lady, or a sideways bearded poet puffing clouds into an arched blue sky. Occasional fishermen tending nets and woven lattice traps in wooden boats are the only visible inhabitants.

After what seemed like hours, we landed, across fallow land to a towering limestone escarpment, swallows hovering gracefully preparing their desired nests, gigantic butterflies flitting around in a hyperactive ballet.

We skirt huge karst outcrops and hide under smooth water-carved limestone, where black-stemmed vines intertwine with sunken chalky white stones. “During the rainy season,” the guide said with a wave of his hand, “it’s all underwater.” Torrential rains had flooded some of the caves in the previous week.

A young man ahead with a machete hacked through clear spiky grass and springy thorny vines until we reached a narrow, steep, slippery drop into darkness.

Our scant headlamps and flashlights scanned the interior, unable to illuminate the confines of the cave, but disturbing enough to disturb the hundreds of bats hanging upside down high above us, their eyes glowing angrily and their wings flapping still The air of the stagnant, stagnant cavern. As we watched the flustered figures and menacing shadows on the far wall, I felt a bat fly over my head and let out a short “Ahhh” that echoed deep in the cave.

cave entrance
The small caves that have been explored in the area are distinguished by their smooth water-carved limestone, interlaced with black-stemmed vines and sunken chalky white stones.

Walking past the circular, eroded dripstone mounds, we found more columns formed by ceiling stalactites connected to floor stalagmites, and even delicate frozen curtains of calcium deposits, crystalline and damp, some hollow, One forms a natural xylophone – but we just look carefully and don’t touch it.

The cave is twists and turns, turning around and looking back, it looks like a crouching tiger for a while. I went to mention this to my expedition mates, but they had disappeared into another room, leaving me with the bats.

It’s hard to get a sense of the maze’s scale as we enter open areas with collapsed ceilings, crawl out of potholes, climb over rough, uneven rock, and into new tunnels lined with river silt and pungent smelling of bat droppings.

cave outside
In the soft shape of eroded limestone, there is a proven fact that given water and time, any solid can change.

Our flashlights illuminated the side caverns, and the tiny cracks Harry Houdini could have squeezed into. At the junction of a cave, we come across a surprise—a natural icon and a discarded net—which our guide speculates may have been brought in by a bat catcher.

Not far away, two snakes are entangled together. If you look closely, it turns out to be a very long snake. “Pretty harmless,” was the conclusion of the gathered Burmese.

In the next room, we encountered a pantomime, tall phallic stalactites, a “phallactite,” among the natural arches and spiral shells beneath our feet, which, one day, will turn into limestone to start the cycle again: Proof to The fact that any solid can be changed given water and time.

You can visit the caves, but only with a guide on a planned tour with Moby Dick Tours (myanmartravel.cc) outside of the rainy season – you’ll need to be fit, agile, and adventurous.

Keith Lyons (keithlyons.net) is a New Zealand travel writer with a decade-long obsession with Myanmar.He edited and co-authored “Opening Hidden Myanmar” and is currently working with photographers on a coffee table book and travel guide for the “last unexplored paradise” of the Mergui Islands david van drisch. (davidvandriessche.com)



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