Immortal Cave

The Immortal Cave, also known as Xian Dong Yan, houses a temple inside a natural sea cave. Once among the top tourist attractions in the port city of Keelung, Taiwan, its glory has faded over the years. Even the landscape vastly changed. In the past, you could hear the tides from inside the cave; today the entrance faces cranes and a container yard instead.

Still, the cave offers an intriguing journey that blends nature with faith. Walk up the stairs and you enter a giant sea cave with worship tables and shrines to Buddha and other deities. The name comes from a story that monks once practiced here. Visitors pray, as in other Taiwanese temples—only here the worship happens inside an elevated littoral cave. 

The stone wall carries many old inscriptions. You will see the large characters for Xian Dong (“Immortal Cave”) and Hai Wai Dong Tian (“Overseas Paradise”), carved in the 1880s, when Taiwan was still under Qing rule. There are also many delicate carvings and statues on the stone walls. 

The left cave gives the most thrilling experience: a very narrow tunnel barely wider than a person. In some sections, you have to bend down to pass. Kids usually find it easier. People with larger builds might want to skip this part.

Nearby stands the “Buddha Hand Cave,” another dimly lit elevated sea cave. There is no shrine inside, but toward the end you can see finger-shaped rock formations on the ceiling—supposedly the Buddha’s hand.