The 7th-century artwork of the Kawgun Cave (admission K3000, camera K500) consists of thousands of tiny clay buddhas and carvings plastered all over the walls and roof of this open cavern.
Just over a mile away, and built by the same exiled king, is the Yathaypyan Cave (admission free), which contains several pagodas as well as a few more clay wall carvings.
Both caves are inaccessible during the rainy season (June to October). A round-trip on a thoun bein or motorcycle taxi should run about K5000.
Kawgun was constructed by King Manuaha after he was defeated in battle and had to take sanctuary in these caves. Impressive as it is today, you can only imagine what it was like a few years back, before a cement factory, in its quest for limestone, started dynamiting the nearby peaks – the vibrations caused great chunks of the art to crash to the floor and shatter.
If you have a torch you can traverse Yathaypyan Cave, which takes about 10 minutes, after which you’ll emerge at a viewpoint.
