Things to do in Soppong

Tham Lod

Tham Lod is considered one of Thailand's most impressive caves, partly for its size, partly for its attractive limestone stalactite formations and partly for the unusual coffin cave hidden within the main cave. In its entirety, Tham Lod is more than 1.5 km in length, which is still considerably smaller than some of the caves that can be seen in neighbouring Laos and further afield in Vietnam.

The Lang River flows through more than a third of the cave's length, giving you an opportunity to float through on bamboo rafts -- floating along in the darkness, listening to and smelling the bats overhead, makes for a unique experience. A typical visit includes a float through some of the cave followed by climbing through other portions to see the coffin cave and a couple of other caverns. A complete visit should take about two hours depending on your pace. Try to time your visit around late afternoon as at sunset thousands of bats fly out of the cave and 30,000 swifts fly in. This spectacle can be viewed at the exit to the cave and has to be seen to be believed.

More details
Tham Lod

Caving

Pang Mapah district has more than 200 caves, five of which are over four kilometres long with world class formations. It's a terrific area for exploring if you're a caving enthusiast. Tham Lod is one of the highlights, but there are plenty of other treats.

Tham Pi Man, or Spirit Caves, contain prehistoric coffins that have been carbon dated to approximately 1,700 years old. There are 83 Pi Man caves in Pang Mapah, and little is known about the civilisation that built them. In seven of the caves in the area, two species of the uncommon eyeless cave fish have been found (one cave has both varieties in one stream). One of these uses their fins to 'walk' up waterfalls. Pictures can be found on the walls at Cave Lodge, if you don't want to spend the time searching.

Fossil Cave has 280 million-year-old fossilised shells and Waterfall Cave has beautiful formations and an awesome 30m-high waterfall.

Cave Lodge offers a few day tours of combined walking and caving starting at 450B for four people. Specialist caving expeditions cost 650B for transport, expert guide, caving light, helmet and lunch. They also advocate independent exploration, and provide a very busy map to all the sites of interest in the area, but recommend that you don't go out alone, and always let them know your intended route and time of return.

The unusual Coffin Caves, on the side of the main road a few kilometres out of town on the way to Mae Hong Son, are now open for guided visits at 30B per person. These contain wooden coffins dating from 2,500 years ago, as well as the usual stalactites and stalagmites.

Kayaking

Kayaking is a great way to see Tham Lod and the pretty Lang River, while having fun paddling and navigating mini rapids. Strongly promoted by Cave Lodge, this trip is one of the most popular activities they offer. It lasts about two to three hours, depending on the level of the water and the size and coordination skills of the group. After departure, there is an initial period of acclimatisation as you master handling the inflated rubber kayaks, and meander down the river at a slow pace.

The river runs through the centre of Cave Lod and this is definitely the highlight of the journey, taking about 15 minutes to navigate through the darkness, listen to (and smell) the bats and look at the amazing limestone formations lit only by your headlamps. The river then flows on downstream, past pretty scenery and over small rapids that test your kayak handling skills. During the dry season, the river is low and rapids not particularly fast.

The expedition ends with a tuk tuk drive back to Cave Lodge. The trip costs 490B per person, and can depart at any time between 10:00 and 15:00 from June to February. It's also possible to do a longer version of the trip which goes further down river, past Soppong, for three to four hours. This costs 990B per person and requires a minimum of two people.

Other activities

Activities in Pang Mapha consist of trekking, caving and kayaking or sitting by (or in) the Lang River, chilling out. There are as yet no elephants, no ATVs and no bungee jumping, so make the most of it while it lasts. This is one of the most spectacular areas of north Thailand, scenery-wise, and it's blessed with some of the most awesome cave systems in Southeast Asia, as well as having myriad hill tribe villages within easy access, so for trekking and caving it is a top spot. Note that many of the organised treks in Chiang Mai and Pai will actually bring you up to this area, so if you arrive by your own means and book a trek through Poo Doi, Nam Faa tours or one of the village's guesthouses, you are saving quite a bit of money on transport supplements.

Treks for one or more days may include stays in Lahu, Lisu and Karen villages, but even though it is a lot less touristy than Pai don't expect to find areas that aren't well frequented by other foreigners as trekking has been a big business in Soppong as well as Pai for a considerable time now.

Also note that many shorter hikes including numerous villages are relatively easily organised on your own, and most local guesthouses have maps available showing trekking routes. The local villages are very used to tourists by now and if you do get lost you'll find someone in any village (usually one of the younger members) who can speak a smattering of English.

Some of the smaller caves are okay to visit on your own, but you will certainly need guides and equipment for the larger ones. Cave Lodge is obviously the place for caving but some of the smaller guesthouses can also organise visits for you. Ditto for kayaking.

Cave Lodge is the place to go for organised mountain bike tours, though Ban Lek in town does have some bikes to rent out at 80B per day if you wish to strike out on your own.

Guided day tours can be done for 450 baht per person with a minimum of four people. These include combinations of local walks and visiting caves.

You can learn to cook traditional Shan or Thai dishes in the Cave Lodge kitchen. Delicious local food will be taught by their kitchen chefs for 30B a dish.

More details

http://www.cavelodge.com

Tours and Trekking

In addition to the wide range of activities offered by Cave Lodge at nearby Tham Lod, it is possible to organise day tours and treks directly in Soppong as well.

Little Eden's main day tour includes a visit to Tham Lod and some local hill tribe villages, as well as bamboo rafting, elephant riding, some walking and lunch all for 1,100B. They also organise half- and full-day treks for 300B and 600B per person respectively, as well as a two-hour trek to local Coffin Caves for 200B.

If you really want to escape the Pai trekking routes, Cave Lodge has four licensed guides who can take groups with a minimum of four people on two- or three-night treks through the forested border mountains, visiting Red Lahu and Karen tribes. A three-day, two-night trek costs 1700B, while a four-day, three-night trip will cost 2,200B. There is a guide and helper on each trip, and accommodation in a local village overnight. You will stay as guests in a family home, and sleep dormitory style on the floor with a thin mattress, with a sleeping bag or blanket and a mosquito net.