Print-friendlyAmphoe Ngao
Tham Pha Thai National Park
Tham Pha Thai ถ้ ำผาไท
47Q 0594922 2057129 Alt.: 375 m
Length: 1,186 m VR: 25 m COT LA 1
This is a very well known show cave close to the H1 between the towns of Ngao and Lampang and is mentioned in most tourist guidebooks. The cave was found in 1923 by animal hunters during the survey for the H1. It was explored and surveyed by the French in 1983. The cave is now in its own National Park and has a small visitor centre at the cave. We were allowed to explore the cave on our own and without being charged an entry fee.
From the car park a set of good steps leads up to the large collapse entrance. The main entrance has a large shrine and leads for several hundred metres to an end chamber which has a couple of skylights. There are side passages, but these have not been pushed to a conclusion as they contain over 5% carbon dioxide. Indeed, the carbon dioxide concentration reached 3.5% on the main show cave path during our visit. From the large collapse a couple of other smaller caves can accessed. These smaller caves are included by the French in their total length for Tham Pha Thai
There are several other caves in the park including Tham Chon and Tham Suao which are near Tham Pha Thai and described as "old historical", Tham Rat Cha Kreu which is a 300 m walk from Ban Mae Kae (near Ngao) and Tham Ok Roo which is near the Huai Mae Pleung plantation office.
To the south of Tham Pha Thai the H1 follows the eastern side of the mountain which has a series of limestone cliffs. At one point the road goes through the ‘Cliff Gate’ which is a 75 m wide gap in the limestone wall. A couple of cave entrances were seen in the cliffs near the Gate at 47Q 0582950 2039650, but no attempt was made to visit them. Hallett also followed this route on his travels in 1876. However, he passed through the Gate on elephant rather than in a pick-up truck. He describes the ‘mural limestone’ alongside the route and the gap in the wall. Hallett also mentions a couple of caves near the gate, but he said they were only ‘short’.
Amphoe Sop Prap
Tham Phaya Lue
A blue tourist sign for this cave was seen to the north (?) of Sop Prap on H1. The cave was to the east of the road. No references to the cave have been found.
Amphoe Thoen
Tham Pha Khan
47Q 0521800 1974866 Alt.: 700 m
Length: 762 m + VR: 114 m + COT LA 28?
This cave came to our attention when Tilley published his article in April 2004. However, rumours of a large cave located high in the mountains of southern Lampang have existed for a long time.
Tham Pha Khan is difficult to get to. In March 2005 we went to the village of Ban Mae Thot, which is just off H1 to the north of Thoen, and met the village headman who arranged guides for us. Obviously this would be more difficult to do if you do not speak Thai. The next day we drove for about 10 km to the end of the 4WD track which heads out north of the village from the wat. The end of the track is at 47Q 0521550 1970750 alt.: 270 m. Here we met our guides, with motorbikes, and about 15 villagers. A 20 minute pillion ride across the fields and through the forest brought us to the edge of a river. It was then a very steep walk up the valley, past a couple of other caves, to reach the entrance to Tham Pha Khan. The entrance is 4 km north of where you park the car. We paid the six guides 200 baht each.
The cave descended steeply with a couple of low sections which had been dug out to make it easier. Soon you reach a magnificent calcite floor flowing down the passage. We first explored an upper passage which ascended steeply. Back at the junction we then followed the calcite river, bypassing a climb via a small passage and a rift on the right. Below the pitch the cave got smaller and we were stopped at the top of a 3 m gour climb. One person descended this and reported that the passage continued to descend through a couple of chambers before he turned back. It may of interest to note that drinking water from the small trickle found above the calcite floored passage did not have any ill effects.
The cave was not been fully explored as we ran out of time. The way on below the 3 m gour has only been quickly looked at by one Western caver (the locals have explored extensively below this drop). If the GPS altitude for the entrance is accurate and if the cave resurges at the valley floor level the cave has the potential to be about 400 m deep. Tilley describes the cave as a 'huge labyrinth burrowing more than a kilometre into the heart of the mountain.' It is unfortunate that it is such a difficult cave to get to.
The cave made the news because the villagers in Ban Mae Thot have plans to build a good track and path to the cave and open it as a tourist attraction. They have heard how Tham Chiang Dao, in Chiang Mai province, is a good source of income for the nearby villagers. It has been estimated that they would need 600,000 baht (£8,600) to construct the track and they hope to recover the money in two years. To do this they would need to attract 1,500 visitors a year paying 200 baht each, something that is unlikely to happen as this is not a very pretty cave and the walk up the hill from the end of the track is very steep and difficult. After our trip we thanked the village headman and gently tried to tell him that Tham Pha Khan would not make a good show cave.
In Caves of Thailand the location details for Tham Pha Khan (LA 27) don't match the Tham Pha Khan that we explored. In addition LA 27 is described as having an entrance crawl and then explored following a stream. This is very different to the cave that we visited. However, LA 28 is described as being 2 km from and higher than LA 27 and was said to be much more attractive. It is possible that LA 28 is the Tham Pha Khan we visited.
Tham Sukkasem Sawan ถ้ ำสุบเกษมสวรรค์
47Q 0522231 1957894 Alt.: 200 m
Length: ~70 m
This is a small cave in a large temple complex to the south of Ban Mae Thot. It is sign posted, in Thai, from Ban Mae Thot. The cave has been developed as a shrine with several Buddhas and some mural paintings. A passage reached via a metal ladder over a rift to the right of the main entrance was not explored. Of more interest than the cave is the wooden temple building in the monastery which is made from wood and has extensive bas-relief carvings.
Amphoe Mae Phrik
Mae Wa National Park
Tham Nam Pha Pha Ngam ถ้ ำน้ ำผ่ผาวาม
47Q 0518283 1932372 Alt.: 259 m
Length: 302 m VR: 8 m COT LA 26
The cave is in the Mae Wa National Park about 20 km south of Thoen to the east of the H1. A blue tourist sign indicates the turning into the monastery where this cave is located.
From the car park 220 steps lead up to the entrance. The cave passes three side entrances to reach a collapsed chamber and passage to another small chamber and the upper entrance. There are also a couple of side passages, one of which wasn't explored as a monk was meditating there. The Royal Forest Department website mentions there being a 'cold water stream' inside, but this had completely dried up when we visited in March 2005.
The Royal Forest Department website also mentions a Tham Phra Chedi located 3 km from Ban Nam Dip in Tambon Mae Wa, Amphoe Thoen. It is described as being a medium sized limestone cave with pagoda like stalagmites on the floor and 'tiered ponds' (gours). It has been developed for tourism, Nearby there is also a Tham Chang and many small caves.
Tham Ngu
47Q 0518413 1933451 Alt.: 189 m
Length: ~20 m
This cave is located a short distance to the north of Tham Nam Pha Pha Ngam and there is a small sign, in Thai, at the start of the track leading up to the temple complex. The cave is home to a monk who has been there for 20 years. The monk said there was one more small cave round the corner from Tham Ngu and two more small caves behind the petrol station a few kilometres to the north. Two white stupas were seen on small hills near here which might mark the where the caves are.
Lampang References
Clarac, A. & Pagau-Clarac, H. (1985) [Tham Pha Thai], Cummings, J. (1999) [Tham Pha Thai], Deharveng, L. & Gouze, A. (1983) [Tham Pha Thai], Deharveng, L., et. al. (1986) [Tham Pha Thai], Hallett, H.S. (1890) [Cliff Gate], Munier, C. (1998) [Tham Pha Thai], Tilley, R. (2004) [Tham Pha Khan], Vogt, M. (2003) [Tham Pha Thai]