Keelung’s unforgettable caves

For what must surely be Keelung’s most eye-opening sights, however, look neither to the hills nor to the congested streets of the city. Try instead the super cranes and cargo boats of the city’s huge harbor area, out towards the end of the long headland jutting into the East China Sea. It’s here, almost hidden behind the mass of towering metal contraptions, that the sandstone cliffs, which once plunged directly into the ocean, are pierced by the natural caverns known as Fairy Cave and Buddha’s Hand Cave.

The Fairy Cave (仙洞) could easily be missed while driving along Zhongshan Fourth Road (中山四路) through Keelung’s port. Sandwiched between the cliffs and the dock, the road bends sharply left, and a large golden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha tucked in at the base of the cliffs on the left marks the position of the deep cave temple behind. Walk up the steps and the main temple chamber is right in front, in a large, rounded cave at the base of the cliffs.

Walk into the main chamber, which apart from being in a cave, looks little different from any other Buddhist temple in Taiwan. Fairy Cave, however, has a fascinating surprise in store. The natural, sea-worn cave extends deep into the cliff face in two directions. To the right, a wide, easy passage leads past several fine carvings cut out of the solid rock walls to a small prayer chamber.

The left passage at the rear of the main chamber, on the other hand, is a natural passage dripping with water and barely wider than a crack in places, making it necessary to bend double for part of the 50-meter-long squeeze.

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