In ARK: Survival Ascended, you have islands for base building, and you have shorelines on these islands for easy access to resources too. Deeper in, you also get caves that will protect you from all sorts of hell the surface will throw at you for merely existing.
As you can guess, finding a proper cave on an island that wants you dead can be quite difficult when you have nothing but the undergarments that you spawn in with. Be sure to keep a close eye on the guide below on your next spelunking adventure, so the search and rescue won’t turn into a body retrieval.
All Updated OP Cave Locations & Guide
There is a total of ten caves you can get buried in as you play ARK: Survival Ascended. Apart from that, you can totally make your dream base in them as well if building upwards isn’t really to your liking.
Naturally, coordinates will be provided for each location along with the closest entrance that will take you further in.
Swamp Cave
Latitude 64.8 Longitude 34.9 will take you to the western side of The Redwood Forests. While not really a useful cave to live in, it still offers a variety of bugs, snakes, and spiders for you to farm.
Do have a gas mask or ghillie suit at the ready as breathing inside has severe consequences.
Upper South Cave
Latitude 71.6 Longitude 57.1 will take you to the middle of The Writhing Swamps and The Southern Islets. The interior is absolutely massive and has plenty of space for you to build in.
There’s a massive drop further in, so watch your step when you get there. Apart from that, it gets plenty of sunlight too!
Northwest Cave
Latitude 13.9 Longitude 13.8 is for those people who like living on the edge. This cave will take you to the area of Whitesky Peak where the weather can easily put an end to your respiratory system, should you stay out for too long.
But you’re going to want a base on every biome anyway, and no one will even bother getting close to you in this one. Another bonus is the artifact that you can find in the back.
Central Cave
Latitude 40.2 Longitude 46.1 is right on the Grand Hills, also known as Central Cave. If you need a base close to Volcano, then look no further. This is basically the front door!
The entrance is small but definitely workable compared to the first ones mentioned. Plenty of headspace as well once you go further in.
Lava Cave
Latitude 74.5 Longitude 92.5 will land you in a safer area compared to the other entries. It’s right on the Southeastern Shores north of Herbivore Island.
The sun’s presence is no longer needed in here as the rock formations inside light up the place rather nicely. Building turret walls is perfect for this cave, the only issue is the lack of cliff platforms.
Small Pearl Cave
Latitude 3.9 Longitude 17.8 is for people who enjoy living over the edge rather than just being close to it. This is at the very northern end of Whitesky Peak.
To get inside, you’re going to have to go for a deep dive and hope your appendages won’t snap off due to the harsh conditions underwater. On the bright side, people won’t even know that you exist down here.
Defending the main entrance is of the utmost importance if you want to live down here. It’s better to settle in here if you already have access to underwater turrets.
Big Pearl Cave
Latitude 93.3 Longitude 96.8 is another underwater dive to the southeast of Herbivore Island. This is on the other side of the map, almost opposite of Small Pearl Cave.
The main entrance of Big Pearl Cave is a lot narrower, making it a perfect place for your grenades to suddenly slip out of your hands with the pins pulled.
Hunter Cave
Latitude 85 Longitude 54.3 is in a rather friendlier spot if you’re doing a single player campaign. It’s right to the north of South Zone 2 where the lagoon base can be found. Find out about the Top 5 best Starting Base Locations on our other guide if you’re looking for living space.
Argued to be the best cave on the island! Pack Cave boasts a small entrance and lots of building room on the inside. The first big room you walk in on can be turned into a killbox should any player be lucky enough to even break through your initial defenses.
Carno Cave
Latitude 8.4 Longitude 92.2 is where boys become men. Carno Cave is the second best cave on the island. It has a small entrance and has another water passage as a natural line of defense.
The cave gets freakishly huge as you go deeper in. This is also the same case for the Carnos right outside who will be more than happy to get rid of any raiders trying to get in.
Snow Cave
Latitude 26.7 Longitude 29.4 takes you back to Whitesky Peak. Fittingly named as Snow Cave, this giant pothole is considered to be the best on the entire island. The cave has three main rooms, each becoming bigger as you go further back.
Blocking off the first room with a proper turret tower is your top priority. Do that and no one else will try to get close to you ever again.
The last two rooms are big enough for storing dinos. Just watch out for the angry polar bears inside, they don’t take kindly to visitors.
And those are all of the Cave Locations you can make use of in ARK: Survival Ascended. Better hurry up and choose a spot before somebody else takes it from you!
