Soe Brothers Hpa-an, Myanmar Tour - The Elevated Moments

If you visit Myanmar, be sure to make a side detour to the small town of Hpa-an, which is located in the south-east of the country near the border of Thailand. This small town is known for its famous mountain, Mt. Zwegabin, which is amazing to climb at sunrise. But a lesser known aspect of this undiscovered place is all the mountain side cave temples which are abundant throughout the landscape. Within the mountain tops, there are many ancient caves that hold beautiful Buddhist pagodas. Some only go a few feet into the cliff-side, while the best ones go through the mountain and end up at an incredible view point of rice paddies and distance mountains. The best one leads to a lake and you’ll have to take a boat through another cave to make it back to the entrance.

If you stay at the Soe Brothers Hostel 2 within Hpa-an, then you can arrange to be part of the tour that they provide (needs at least 6 people to sign up) that takes you to all the famous spots. It’s only $6 so it’s a bargain tour for the whole day. Here are some of the shots.

Location:

The Soe Brothers 2 Guesthouse is located within Hpa-an – about a seven hour, $9 USD, bus ride away from Yangon’s central bus station. If you are in Yangon, you can go to the central bus station (which is about an hour away by bus) and ask for the bus to Hpa-an and they can get you to the correct operator that runs this route. The bus drivers are also nice enough to ask where you are stopping at. Just say Soe Brothers 2 and they will get you to the closest spot off the highway within Hpa-an.