In a nutshell
Travel to Myanmar is currently not recommended. The German Foreign Office has issued a travel warning, as the security situation in the country is still classified as critical. It is currently not foreseeable when the situation will improve.
Read all our articles about Myanmar
Attractions in Hpa-an
The city itself doesn’t have any major sights: a mosque, a larger pagoda, a market, and an old clock tower that now sports an LED display.
And that’s about it. It’s worth strolling through town for an hour or two, but after that you’ve really seen everything there is to see.
The real highlights are waiting in the surrounding area!
Things to Do Around Hpa-an: Our Full-Day Tour
The area around Hpa-an is known for its caves and stunning landscapes. Most hotels organize tours where you spend a full day visiting the highlights around town.
At our hotel, a group tour cost just 5,000 Kyat per person. Since we sometimes need a bit more time for photography, we generally prefer to explore on our own.
So we hired a tuk-tuk for the whole day — from around 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM — and had it take us around the area at our own pace.
The whole thing set us back 25,000 Kyat (about 18 euros) and left us with plenty of memories — and quite a few bruises. Some of the roads are nothing more than dirt tracks, and our tuk-tuk was unfortunately a particularly beat-up one. Oh well, these things happen.
Most tours cover similar attractions, so here’s everything we saw. The order below also reflects the order in which we visited them.
Kaw Ka Thaung Cave
We kicked things off with the first of four caves that day. Kaw Ka Thaung Cave is a good introduction, but looking back, it’s the least spectacular of the four.
Saddan Cave
From there we headed straight to cave number two — and this one was something else entirely. Saddan Cave is one of the largest and most impressive caves in Myanmar, with a labyrinth stretching more than 800 meters in total.
The cave gets darker the further you go in, so make sure to bring a flashlight. After a few hundred meters you’ll reach a bat colony. Thousands of bats fill the cave ceiling and make a genuinely deafening noise.
Once you’ve made your way through the dark passages and the bat zone, you emerge at the other end of the cave. There, boatmen wait to row you back across the lake to the entrance.
The boat ride is seriously beautiful — it’s absolutely worth pushing through the whole cave to get to it.
If that all sounds too spooky, you can also just take the boat across the lake without going through the cave first.
We paid 6,000 Kyat for the boat ride. There was room for two more people on the boat, but unfortunately there was nobody else around but us.
Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda
Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda is one of the top highlights around Hpa-an. A dramatic rock rises steeply out of the landscape, and perched on its summit — as you might expect — sits a small pagoda.
Kawgon Cave
Kawgon Cave was the most beautiful of all the caves we visited on our tour. The countless reliefs carved into the rock walls are simply incredible, and we could barely stop taking photos in there.
Yathayphyan Cave
To wrap up the cave circuit, we visited Yathayphyan Cave, which was also really beautiful. Its position on a small hill means it offers a fantastic panorama of the surrounding area above all else.
Bat Cave
We’d originally planned to close out the day at the Bat Cave. Every evening at dusk, tens of thousands of bats fly out of this cave — which must be quite a spectacle. Unfortunately, it rained so heavily toward the end of the day that we ended up skipping it.
Still, it was a really exciting day. There’s so much to see around Hpa-an. We only covered the highlights south of town, and if you have a bit more time, you can definitely discover a lot more in the area.
Our Hotel Recommendation for Hpa-an
There are only a handful of accommodations in Hpa-an. During peak season especially, you should definitely book ahead.
We stayed at the Galaxy Motel. It’s very basic but relatively clean — don’t expect anything fancy, but for about $20 a night you really can’t complain.
The location is great, and the owner is super friendly, speaks good English, and organizes tours, tickets, and whatever else a traveler might need.
Check out the Galaxy Motel Hpa-an
There are also a few alternative places to stay in town ranging from budget to more comfortable. Here’s our pick of the best options across every price range:
Our Restaurant Picks for Hpa-an
San Ma Tu
San Ma Tu serves the best local food in Hpa-an. You choose from countless pots whatever you feel like eating, and ten small bowls of various dips get brought to your table. Very authentic and super affordable!
The restaurant is a little outside of the center — about a 15-minute walk from the clock tower, or a quick tuk-tuk or moped taxi ride.
Lucky Restaurant
Also worth a visit is the Lucky Restaurant near the market. It’s the only place in town with draft beer, and the food is pretty good too.
New Day Bakery
For a really good cup of coffee, head to the New Day Bakery just around the corner from the clock tower. Make sure to try the egg pudding — it’s delicious.
Getting There and Onward Travel
Most travelers arrive from the Golden Rock and continue from Hpa-an to Mawlamyaing. We took this same route ourselves.
From the Golden Rock, it takes about two and a half hours by bus to reach Hpa-an.
The bus to Mawlamyaing departs hourly in front of the New Day Bakery and costs 1,000 Kyat. It’s very basic with no air conditioning, but the scenery along the route is seriously impressive.
The road crosses two massive bridges spanning rivers at dizzying heights. The trip takes about two hours, and you pay directly on the bus.
The bus is supposed to depart on the hour — but we arrived fifteen minutes early, took our seats, and it left right away. So it’s better to show up a bit early!
The boat to Mawlamyaing is also a scenic option. A boat runs this route daily at 1:00 PM, but only if passengers have been found that morning traveling in the opposite direction.
It’s best to ask at your hotel the evening before whether a boat is running. You can also charter a private boat if needed.
Also read our travel report about Mawlamyaing
Our Video from Hpa-an
To round things off, here’s a short video of our time in Hpa-an. Enjoy!
Our Verdict on Hpa-an
Hpa-an is totally worth it! The landscape is unique and the attractions in the surrounding area are absolutely fantastic. Together with Mawlamyaing, southern Myanmar is seriously one of the standout highlights of any trip to the country.
Have you ever been to Hpa-an? What did you think of it? Do you have any tips for us? We’d love to read your comment.
