The Forest is a unique take on the survival formula where the setting itself triggers a curiosity within the player, considering the mission to find your lost son, the cannibalistic mutant population that roams the land, and the underlying mystery of the island itself. There is much to figure out and thrive for in this game.
One of the most interesting and crucial features of the Forest are the caves that are scattered throughout. Most of the unique objects and scenes about the overall story are in these caves, and many key items like maps, compasses, katana, etc., are all found in these dark domains.
Related: How To Find Aloe In The Forest (Quick Tips)
In this article, we will go into much detail related to all the caves in The Forest so read along.
Cave Entrances
All of the caves are accessible through three different ways with the exception of Hell Cave.
- Walking entrance: These are small crevices between rocks that the player has to squeeze through to enter the cave.
- Climbing entrance: These are small openings in the ground covered by rocks all around with a climbing rope that can be used to slide down to the cave.
- Underwater entrance: These are entrances to caves under bodies of water like lakes and the sea. These require a Rebreather to swim underwater to access.
Caves Considerations
Caves are the perfect location to get your hands on supplies. Supplies like cash,coins,flares,sticks,ropes,sodas,dynamite,etc. Most of these supplies will respawn when you enter the cave, minus some key items, so the caves can be used to replenish your supplies regularly. The caves are totally dark with a few light sources scattered around like skull lamps hence they require you to carry a light source such as a lighter, flashlight, or a tool wrapped in cloth and burned like an upgraded stick.
Some of the caves have abandoned orange tents that can be used as save points. You can also build disposable leaf shelters in cases of emergencies. Unless it is broad daylight outside, touchingthe waterin caves will usually result in the “cold and wet” status condition. Many of the forest’s most disturbing scenes to be uncovered are within the caves.
Cave List And The Order You Should Explore Caves In The Forest
There are a total of 16 caves in The Forest scattered around the map. Many of the caves are part of a larger underground system and interconnected through underwater or breakable wall passages. Below we have listed all the caves in the game and have numbered them according to the order you should approach them.
- Cave 1 – Dead Cave
- Cave 2 – Hanging Cave
- Cave 3 – Wet Cave
- Cave 4 – Baby Cave
- Cave 5 – Submerged Cave
- Cave 6 – Lawyer Cave
- Cave 7 – Chasm Cave
- Cave 8 – Sinkhole Cave
- Cave 9 – Ledge Cave
- Cave 10 – Waterfall
- Cave HC – Hell Cave
- Cave Science – Sahara Cave
- Artifact Cave
- Shipwreck Cave
- Kanji Cave
- Coaster Cave
Cave Locations
Cave numbers and names are listed below the map. Many of the caves have multiple entrance/exit points which are seen on the map with their respective number and/or name. The different types of entrances are also mentioned with special icons as seen on the map too. Many caves are also connected to each other which will be discussed in the individual cave detail section below.
- 1 = Dead Cave
- 2 = Hanging Cave
- 3 = Wet Cave
- 4 = Baby Cave
- 5 = Submerged Cave
- 6 = Lawyer Cave
- 7 = Chasm Cave
- 8 = Sinkhole Cave
- 9 = Ledge Cave
- 10 = Waterfall
- Hell Cave
- Cave Science – Sahara Cave
- Artifact Cave
- Shipwreck Cave
- Kanji Cave
- Coaster Cave
All Cave Maps, Items Found, Enemies To Fight
Each cave has an intricate design and some even lead to other caves. Caves also house many important items crucial to surviving this hellish land along with items that flesh out the underlying story/lore of the game. Caves also have nasty enemies you can fight or sneak past. All this information is presented below in each cave section.
Cave 1 – Dead Cave
Cave 1has 3 entrances: one near the southeast rim of thesinkhole, and two surrounding a smallCannibal Villagesouth of the sinkhole. Inside Cave 1 is a wall that can be blown up withexplosivesto open a path leading toCave 9. Additionally, the northern part of Cave 1 blends intoCave 3, which is accessible via a rope up that will lead to the first submerged area of Cave 3.
Go left after entering entrance 1 to avoid fighting theArmsy, this will lead directly to thekatanawith noenemieson the way.
Entrances
Walking Entrance
Climbing Entrance
Key Items
Other Items
| Cash Cloth Coins Dynamite Fuel Can Rope Skull Stick Throwable Rock Wrist watch | Cloth Cases Laptop Outfit Soda Crate Suitcases | CrucifixSketch – Latin Paper Timmy Drawing1 Timmy Drawing2 Timmy Drawing3 |
Katana Section
Enemies
- Armsy
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
Cave 2 – Hanging Cave
Cave 2has a climbing entrance inside theMain Cannibal Village. There is a second entrance to the north near a smallerCannibal Villageon the side of a lake. The first time the player loses health completely and loses consciousness, they will wake up in this cave tied by their feet to the ceiling, with theirPlane axewithin arm’s reach on the ground nearby.
Entrances
Walking Entrance
Climbing Entrance 1
Climbing Entrance 2
Key Items
Other Items
| Booze Cash Coins Hairspray Rope Skull Snack Stick Throwable Rock | Cloth Case Cloth Crate Outfit Suitcases | Autopsy Report Timmy Drawing5 |
Hidden Stash Room
| Circuit Board Dynamite Electrical Tape Meds(Pills) Modern Arrow Modern Axe Soda | Circuit Board Crate Outfit | Autopsy Report Lost Children of the Peninsula Paintbrush Red Paint |
Enemies
Cave 3 – Wet Cave
Cave 3has two entrances: one on theriver bottom at the west side of theFertile Landsand one near the dirty white tents across from twocannibal structuresnearby.
Much of the cave is underwater, similar toCave 5. Therebreatherandclimbing axeare necessary to fully exploreCave 3. It is separated fromCave 1by a rope. Climbing the rope will grant access to the water areas, which are separated by aclimbingwall that can be jumped down but not back up.
Entrances
Walking Entrance
Using this entrance is preferred, as the chainsaw can be retrieved without having to obtain the climbing axe or rebreather. Because of this, as well as the lack of creepy mutants, it is a good early cave to visit, along with the Dead Cave and Hanging Cave.
Diving Entrance
Key items
Other items
| Air Canister Booze Circuit Board Cloth Coins Fuel Can Meds Rope Skull Stick Throwable Rock Wrist watch | Soda Crate Suitcases | Siblings Missing Newspaper |
Enemies
- Mutant Babies
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
- Armsy
Cave 4 – Baby Cave
Cave 4has an entrance to the west of theLakeside Village, (northeast of theyacht). It contains oneVirginiaand severalMutant babies. It’s part ofCave 2 – Hanging Cave but listed separately in thesurvival guide’sto-do list as “keep exploring the hanging cave“.
Entrance
Climbing Entrance
Key Items
Other Items
| Circuit Board Fuel Can Meds Rope Throwable Rock | Laptop Soda Crate Suitcases |
Enemies
- Virginia
- Mutant Babies
Cave 5 – Submerged Cave
Cave 5has two entrances on the southwest of the peninsula, as well as an underwater entrance beneathGeese Lake. However, entering the underwater entrance without theRebreatherwill likely lead to death. The player cannot hold their breath long enough to get there even when sprint-swimming.
Cave 5is divided into two sections by a giantStone Door. It is also worth noting most ofCave 5is underwater. There are 2 more cannibals in the rope area not depicted on the map. All 3 are asleep and can be killed easily with ranged weapons.
Entrances
Walking Entrance
Climbing Entrance
Diving Entrance
Key Items
The following items can be found in first part ofCave 5(Southern entrance):
- Rebreather
- Flashlight
- Toy Left Leg
The following items can be found on the other side of theStone Door(Geese lake entrance):
- Rusty Axe
- Photo Cache 3
Other Items
| Air Canister Booze Cash Cloth Coins Flare Fuel Can Hairspray Meds Rock Rope Skull Snack Stick Wrist Watch | Cloth Case Cloth Crate Laptop Outfit Soda crate Suitcases | Beneath The Limestone Bible Timmy Drawing 6 Virginia Sketch |
Enemies
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
Cave 6 – Lawyer Cave
Cave 6stretches under the west coast of the peninsula. It is split into two halves by an underwater passage and connects to Cave 10-Waterfall. It is one of the most dangerous, having multiplemutants, over a dozencannibals, and manybabies. Both halves contain severalpassengers. To fully explore the cave, the player will need therebreatherand twoexplosives.
The eastern half has one climbing entrance on the north side ofGeese Lake, dropping into a small room full of beheaded lawyers and their briefcases, from which the cave draws its name. It initially houses 1Virginiaand multipleregular cannibals. To the north, it continues into cave 10-waterfallthrough a pair of destructible rock walls. To the south, a long flooded passage leads toCave 5 – Submerged Cave.
The western half has 2 squeeze-in entrances, one north-northwest ofGeese Lakeand one on the side of a hill near theShipping Containers. Its passages house both types ofPale Cannibalsand multiplebabies, with an additionalBlue Armsyin the mass grave pit guarding thekeycard.
Entrances
Walking Entrance 1
Walking Entrance 2
Climbing Entrance
Key Items
- Camcorder
- Camcorder Tape 1
- Camcorder Tape 2
- Keycard
Other Items
| Air Canister Booze Cash Coins Flare Fuel Can Meds Skull Snack Stick Throwable Rock Wrist Watch | Flare Crate Laptop Modern Arrow crate Suitcases Bathrobe Outfit | Fortune |
Enemies
- Blue Armsy
- Virginia
- Mutant Babies
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
Cave 7 – Chasm Cave
The accessible entrance toCave 7(squeeze-in) can be found after crossing the northern-mostland bridgeconnecting the peninsula to the mountains. It is the most difficult cave in terms of length, complexity, navigation, and number/types ofenemiespresent.
The cave contains a minimum of 6creepy mutants, includingArmsies,Virginias, andMutant Babies, some of which are of the blue variety. It also contains approximately 23 regularcannibalsand severalbabies. To fully explore the cave, the player will need theclimbing axe, the rebreather, and some sort ofexplosives. This cave should not be attempted without being fully supplied and stocked, due to its difficulty and length.
This cave also opens up into the side of thesinkholevia a set ofstone doors. This is the “intended” path for players to reach the bottom of thesinkhole, as it may be more reliable and safe to pass throughCave 7, rather than employing alternative methods (e.g., sliding/climbing down the sinkhole walls or building a staircase).
It haspassengers5, 7, 10, 21, 23, 34, and 42.
Entrances
Walking Entrance
Sinkhole Exit
Key items
- Modern Bow
- Tennis Racket
- Flashlight
- Old Gun Ammo
- Pedometer
- Photo Cache 4
- Photo Cache 5
- Camcorder Tape 4
- Toy Right Arm
- Toy Right Leg
Other items
Modern Bow section
| Air Canister Booze Meds Modern Arrow Modern Bow Old Gun Ammo Skull | Circuit Board Crate Flare crate Modern Arrow crate Tennis Outfit |
Enemies
- Blue Armsy
- Armsy
- Blue Virginia
- Virginia
- Mutant Babies
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
Cave 8 – Sinkhole Cave
Cave 8is a part ofCave 7, but is still its own dedicated cave system. It’s officially called the ‘Sinkhole Cave’ although due toCave 7&8being mostly merged, and considered as one under the name ‘Cave 7’,Cave 7′ssinkholeexit (actually part ofCave 8) is often called by the same name.
Cave 9 – Ledge Cave
There are two main entrances toCave 9, as well as two other entrances both placed on the same ledge in theSinkhole. In the most southern part, there is a wall that can be blown up to grant access toCave 1 – Dead Cave. Multiple walls inCave 9can only be scaled with theClimbing Axe, which is found near the center. The player should take care not to fall into the deep pit in the center of the cave while attempting to cross around the ledges.
Entrances
Climbing Entrance 1
Climbing Entrance 2
(Climbing Axe Required)
Key Items
- Climbing Axe
- Photo Cache 2
- Camcorder Tape 3
Other Items
| Circuit Board Coins Fuel Can Meds Rope Skull Snack Stick | Flare Crate Outfit Suitcase Soda Crate |
Enemies
- Mutant Babies
- Pale Cannibals
- Pale Skinny Cannibals
Cave 10 – Waterfall Cave
The entrance to Cave 10 can be found to the west of the sinkhole. It’s unusually deep and requires two ropes to climb down before you reach the bottom. There’s one primary area, half filled with water, at the bottom of the waterfall. A caver camp can be found at this level, with orange save tents, flare chests, and all manner of supplies. Climbing down another rope will lead you to a room with a small central pond with a boat, as well as one Cowman and a single cannibal.
Near the end of the cave, two wooden walls can be shattered with an axe, leading to two passengers of the flight. Blasting through a set of rock walls, the player can access Cave 6 – Lawyer Cave.
Entrance
Climbing Entrance
Items
| Rope Skull Snack Throwable Rock | Explosives Crate Flare Crate Flare suitcase Laptop | Beneath The Limestone Bible Page One Artifact Sketch Red Paint |
Enemies
- Pale Cannibal
- Cowman
Cave HC – Hell Cave
TheHell Caveis located at the bottom of thesinkhole. This canonlybe accessed by swimming through the small hole in the water (rebreatherrequired). After a long swim, the player will resurface in a very large chamber. Certain sections of the walls will resemble actual construction, with the same obsidian-like material as theStone Doors. The player will encounter severalcannibals. Though there is aclimbingwall, it can be avoided by simply jumping up the rocks nearby and leaping across.
Further in the cave, the player will find a long corridor. After traveling down a long hallway that has been constructed, the player will encountera large mechanical door. The door leads into theSahararesearch lab.
Key items
- Camcorder Tape 5
Other items
| Bone Skull Stick | Explosives Crate Soda Crate | Polaroid Keycard 1 Timmy Drawing 8 Timmy Drawing 9 |
Enemies
- Blue Armsy
- Blue Virginia
- Cowman
- Masked Cannibals
- Pale Cannibals
Cave Science – Sahara Cave
(Spoilers ahead)
Cave Science – Sahara Caveis a temporary place-holder name for the cave located between theresearch laband the elevator to theobservatory. It is only accessible via the research lab, with a walk-in entrance. It features dozens of mummified corpses, perhaps those ofSaharaemployees who have fallen to thedeath obelisk. It requires therebreatherto swim through, and there are no enemies. It has one set ofsacrifice doors.
The caves appear to serve as a home to many of thecannibals and are where they bring the majority of corpses they collect. Dozens ofpassengerscan be seen hanging from the ceilings, and relatively fresh body parts can be seen hanging or scattered on the ground in some places.Mutant babiescan commonly be found in these caves, suggesting that they serve as the breeding ground for the mutants. Following this line of thought, it can be assumed that thespider mutantserves as the brood mother, seeing as how she appears to have functioning (albeit horrendously deformed) genitalia and is rarely seen outside of the cave system. The caves also house a variety of mummified corpses that appear in the more unique areas. How the mummies connect to the cannibals is unknown, as they were left alone after death rather than being eaten, suggesting their presence may pre-date the formation of the cannibal society.
Items
- Rock
- Yellow Flare Crate
Artifact Cave
TheArtifact caveis only accessible if the player chooses to shut downThe Power Obelisk. After shutting down the device, the elevator to theArtifact cavewill be opened. After going down to the cave system, the player can’t return to theObservatory.
Entrance
The walk-in entrance is close to theCockpit, far into theMountain Area.
Key Items
Other Items
| Booze Meds Skull Snack | Explosives Crate Flare crate Modern Arrow crate |
Shipwreck Cave
TheShipwreck Caveorcave11 is found in the very southwest corner of themapslightly further from the anchor symbol and west of theyacht. It can be entered by swimming into the wreck of an old ship and swimming down into a cave entrance found in a hole in the ship’s hull. The cave itself is very small and has no enemy mutants that spawn naturally. In the center of the wall on the far end of the cave, there is a drawing of what seems to be the ship before it was destroyed. It is recommended to carry arebreatherwhen exploring the cave.
Entrance
Items
- Crossbow
- Crossbow bolts
- Schematic 1
Kanji Cave
TheKanji Caveor cave 12 is a submerged cave that can be found near where theshipping containersare and has a single swimming entrance. TheKanji Cavecontains no enemies.
The easiest way to find it is to stand at the entrance of the yellow sea can, with the sea can behind you, and use the compass to face perfectly North West (the middle line between North and West). Head directly northwest, following the sea floor until you come up on a pile of rocks. The cave entrance is in this pile of rocks. You can also find the entrance with a raft by looking for a floating plank on the surface of the water.
Entrance
Items
- Crossbow bolts
- Schematic 2
- Schematic 3
Coaster Cave
TheCoaster Caveor cave 13 is a small submergedcaveoff the southeast coast of thePeninsula, near three small islands. It has one swim entrance, which requires ~50% of a fullair canisterin therebreatherto get in and out of the cave. The entrance is also marked with a floating piece of wood, similar to other submerged caves. Once inside the entrance, there is a deep cylindrical room which leads to a middle room serving as an air pocket, with another deep cylindrical space going to the final room with theLog Trackschematic on a podium, with a wooden model behind it. TheCoaster Cavecontains no enemies.
Entrance
Items
- Crossbow bolts
- Schematic 4
- Oldsuit Outfit
This has been a detailed article that discusses all the caves present in The Forest. From the order that these caves should be completed to the items you might find in them and even the various entrances that you can use to enter or exit these caves. These caves hide the most important aspect of the game from survival tools to items that further flesh out the story of what’s happening on this mysterious island.
