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Region: Southern Laos> Province: Khammuan>Location: Tha Khaek
Tha Khaek sights and attractions
Route 12 Caves and Swimming holes - Get out there and explore
Description
Route 12 leaves Tha Khaek heading east. It quickly turns to dirt and becomes tricky to navigate, but there are a surprising number of worthwhile sites along the route, making it worth the effort. You can hire a tuk-tuk at the 3-kilometre market, or head out on your own by motorbike. Touring the route on a locally-rented bicycle can be a bit of a nightmare, but if you've got a good bike of your own and know how to handle the dirt, it's eminently doable. Take note that most of the caves are known by a dizzying variety of local names -- we've tried to list the most common names here.
Tham Pha Fa (Buddha cave)
Km 6, on the left
This place was only discovered in 2004, when a local stumbled across it looking for bats -- it's filled with Buddha images that are estimated to be hundreds of years old and has become a holy site for local Buddhists. It's part of the standard, one-day cave tour, but you can get there on your own. The road that leads to it is easy to spot because it's directly across from the very first limestone mountain you see leaving town. Take a left turn down that road through the rice fields, and after 600m, turn right at the small village. Continue for another 8km until the road bears left, and follow it two more kilometres to the cave. There's a project underway to pave this road.
Admission to the cave is 2,000 kip, and 2,000 kip to park a motorbike, 5,000 kip for a car. There used to be nothing but a bamboo ladder leading up 300m to the mouth, but now there's a sturdy staircase. No photography is permitted inside the cave. Women are not permitted to enter wearing shorts or slacks -- you'll be able to rent a sarong for another 2,000 kip. During the rainy season, the area around the mouth of the cave floods and you'll have to take a small boat to reach the stairs. You can also take a boat 50m into the underground river running under the mountain for 3,000 kip -- not too much to see here, but the water is turquoise and the rock formations are pretty. The cave itself is not so big or impressive, but it is packed with Buddha images, and regularly fills with faithful Buddhists, monks chanting, and burning incense -- this site is definitely of more interest to culture junkies than spelunkers.
Tham Phaa Baan Tham
Km 7, on the right
This large cave is about 7km from the roundabout in Tha Khaek along the road to Mahaxai. You'll cross a small bridge, just before the turn, which is after a small hut on the right -- continue for a kilometre or so, and where the road takes a right, you go straight ahead and you're there. The cave is set in a large limestone outcrop. Visible from a couple of kilometres away, the cave houses a few Buddhist shrines and is also home to hundreds of bats. A good time to visit is late afternoon when the low sun makes it very photogenic and the bats are more active. No admission fee is charged.
Tham Xieng Liap
Km 13, on the right
This sizeable cave has a stream which runs through it year round. The cave is quite deep and during the dry season you can wander a fair way into it without getting too wet, although some paddling will be necessary. Although the cave is probably more spectacular during wet season (then the river would rise considerably), this has to be weighed against being able to get into the cave without swimming in. The entrance is at about kilometre 14 -- you'll spot some stalls on the right and left hand sides of the road, then cross a small bridge -- the entrance is down the first road to the right. No admission is charged.
Tha Falang
Km 14, on the left
This scenic spot, around 14 km from Tha Khaek, was popularised by the French as a weekend picnic spot long ago. Worth a stop for a swim midway through your cave tour, the water is turquoise and extremely refreshing. The river is also well regarded for its fishing. This is best reached with a guide, however if travelling under your own steam, proceed 13 kilometres from the roundabout along the road to Mahaxai. We couldn't spot any signs here that say, This way to Tha Falang, but it's pretty obvious that it's the entrance to something, and there are signs indicating the names of the villages along the way. After taking a left off the main road, you'll proceed several kilometres past a small village -- take a right at the road right after the school. It's a short trip from there to the water. It's a great place to break for lunch and a swim. No admission charge. On the opposite bank near the apex of the limestone outcrop is another cave, which, according to our guide could only be reached by helicopter!
Tham Phaa Ing
Km 17, on the left
Around 17km from Tha Khaek, this spectacular cave should not be missed. As you enter the main cavern, there are two directions you can go, up to your left, where are series of upper levels finishes with some Buddhist shrines and allow you to see down through the cave, or down to your right where you'll reach a large turquoise body of water which is open to the sky. The water here looks inviting, but it's considered sacred, and swimming is taboo. Perched on the rocks by the waters edge, you cannot see the sky, but the tranquillity of the spot is to be recommended. On the roof, above the pond is where a lot of bats roost.
The entrance is easy to spot -- at about kilometre seventeen you'll come across a narrow pass between two mountains -- the only one on the road. Just past it, there's a rectangular arch above a road to the right, which leads a short distance to the cave entrance. There's no staff at the gate, and no admission charge.
Tham Nang Aen
Km 19
This massive cave is without doubt the most impressive of the lot. Stretching for almost 100m into a massive limestone outcrop, this cave is a favourite with the locals and understandably so. As you stand at its entrance, it is like standing before a giant air conditioner set on high -- a very pleasant feeling given the heat in Tha Khaek. A series of staircases have been built into the cave, but in a bizarre manner, and complemented by their concrete balustrades and oddly tinted fluorescent lights the cave looks like an M. C. Escher painting! The cave has numerous chambers and fresh running water at its base. There is at least one other entrance to the cave, which you'll stumble onto if you work your way over to the right.
Admission to the park outside the cave is 2,000 kip -- 2,000 kip to bring in a motorbike, 5,000 kip for a car. Then there's an additional 5,000 kip charge to enter the cave.
Wat Pha That Si Khotabong - Photogenic riverside wat
8 km south of town
Description
This 19th century wat which sits on the banks of the Mekong is the most revered in the Tha Khaek area and is home to a large festival during the full moon of the third lunar month.
The distinctive thaat is regarded as one of the most important in Laos, but you wouldn't think so looking at the state of things. The wat was quite run down when we saw it but it is still worth a visit -- late afternoon is particularly good for photos.
How to get there: The wat is around 8 km to the south of town and can be reached by tuk tuk or bicycle. The energetic could walk there although the walk is fairly uneventful.