Hpa-An Trip, Kayaks, visit to Zwekabin in Kayin State - 3 Days

A private car and guide will pick up from the hotel / home in Yangon and we’ll be heading north outside Yangon via Yangon-Naypyitaw highway road if we don’t need to see Bago. On the way, we’ll visit Thaton City. Thaton is said to be the original capital of the Mons but now that distinction has shifted to Mawlamyaing. However, Thaton still boasts some historical links. There are remnants of an old city wall of the shrine a Bagan hero, Byatwi, who became a nat (spirit) after being killed by the lord of the town when he fell in love with the governor’s beautiful daughter. Now he is recorded as the guardian of the town and people come here to pray. Second Garden Café is a quiet place for fine dining and we’ll have a lunch in the bamboo forest. Thaton Old Airport used by British during colonial time, old buildings and the sun dial clock presented by King Edward VII from England in 1904 are interesting places to visit.

Afternoon, we’ll continue to beautiful Kayin State. Kawgun Cave is incredibly beautiful to have a look. It’s a natural limestone cave and famous for its Mon cultural style clay Buddha images and terracotta votive tablets in its interior walls. This cave dates back to the later Bagan period (13th century AD). This can be seen in the carved statues, sandstone Buddhist statues, the mural paintings and the ink and carved Mon inscriptions.

Kaw Ka Thawng Cave: More popular among locals than foreign tourists. It’s located about 7th miles away from Hpa An, just before Eindu village, a popular local spot for swimming or kayak tour through a quiet creek. We’d suggest to bring your swim suit as the water here really inviting you to feel the cool cave water. Locals believe it can promote your good health by swimming in this little lake.

Kayak tour:

Swimming first o kayak tour first is your own choice. Both make you feel awesome! The kayak tour will take us toward the quiet Kawt-Ka-Mate village. We’ll meet friendly Kayin people living in this village and they are growing paddy, breeding ducks and pigs, planting vegetables and sometime fishing near the village. A small bridge joining two villages is a great spot for the amazing photos to beautiful landscapes and limestone hills.

Monastery and hidden village visits: We’ll have time to visit a monastery and hidden Kayin village. Young monks (novices) are living in the village monastery for their monastic education as well as learning Buddhism. Some of them live forever in monkhood life but some quit once they grow older. Guide will explain more details on the trip. Hidden Kayin village is interesting with their traditional beliefs, eat vegetarian foods, men having a long hair and they have very huge shrine for the prayers. It’s truly fascinating to explore and discover all these hidden cultures of Kaying people’s lifestyles.

Overnight at Hpa-An Breeze Hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Driving through Hpa-An– full day We can discover today the untouched surrounding area of Hpa-An and feel unforgettable memories with Kayin people. Our sightseeing today starts from the biggest Sadan cave which is situated in the southern part of Zwekabin mountain range. It is approximately 32 km south of Hpa-An. The cave is 107 meters in length and 40 meters in width with the entrance being the widest part of the cave. Natural stones, rocks, stalactites and stalagmites can be found in the cave. This huge cave is simply breathtaking and one of the best highlights to visit while you’re in Hpa-An. Our cave walk is ending with a small and wooden boat trip paddle by Kayin man to our car parking.

Later we’ll see the landmark of Kayin State Mt. Zwekabin. It’s located 11 km south of Hpa-An and its peak is 723 m above sea level. It takes three hours hike to the summit where one can enjoy mountaineering, breathtaking views of

Hpa-An and the surrounding areas (We’ll not do hiking, just pass by, unfortunately). A simple lunch with Kayin foods is served at one local restaurant near Mt. Zwekabin. One of the most unlikely pagodas in Myanmar is Kyauk-Kalap in Hpa-An, we’ll not miss it to see before heading to Bats Cave.

Bat Cave is truly exciting stuff in Hpa-An that many tourists go there to watch millions of bats are coming out of their nest at around 6:15pm. In the sky, hawks are waiting for their dinner, and it’s thrilling how bats try to run away from them. Mother nature we learn here is how bigger and stronger animals conquer weaker and smaller ones. End of this exciting Bats flying show, we all go back to the night market in Hpa-An for snacks or you may go straight to your hotel.

Overnight at Hpa-An Breeze Hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Boat trip over Thanlwin River – hiking to Phar Pu Mountain

A boat trip over Thanlwin River takes us toward a village near Phar Pu Mountain. Get ready yourself with trekking shoes, and our local guide will lead the way to the mountain top. It’s quite steep to the hill top but the view is breathtaking from there. Downhill walk is so easy and only 20 minutes to get to our boat. Total hiking time is around 45 minutes to 1 hour. Boat ride back to Hpa-An City and we’ll be traveling back to Yangon, on the way, we’ll visit Bayinnyi Cave, it has a natural hot spring, beautiful rock formation and has some Buddha statues inside. During green season, we can explore the cave by boat around the cave which is truly amazing and relaxing.

At the end, we’ll be back to Yangon by leaving this fantastic Kayin State in Myanmar.