Thailand Guide
The north
Tham Lot
Enormous, spooky Tham Lot (B100 per group for a guide) is the most famous of over two hundred known caves in the area around the village of Ban Tam.
A short walk through a forest brings you to the cave entrance, where the Lang River begins a 600-metre subterranean journey through Tham Lot. Access depends on how much rain there has been, and may involve hiring a bamboo raft (B100–400); at the driest times you can wade. Two hours should allow you enough time for travelling through the broad, airy tunnel, and for the main attraction, climbing up into the sweaty caverns in the roof.
The first of these, Column Cavern, is dominated by a twenty-metre-high cave stalagmite snaking up towards the ceiling. Bamboo ladders lead up into Doll Cave, which has a glistening, pure white wall and a weird red and white formation shaped like a Wurlitzer organ; deep inside, stalagmites look like dolls. Just before the vast exit from the cave, wooden ladders lead up into Coffin Cave, named after the remains of a dozen crude log coffins discovered here, one of them preserved to its full length of 5m. Hollowed out from teak trunks about 1700 years ago, some are raised 2m off the ground by poles, and some still contained bones and pottery when they were discovered.
Practicalities
Access to Tham Lot is at the village of Ban Tham, 9km from the small market town of Soppong, 43km from Pai, which has transport to Pai and Mae Hong Son.
Cave Lodge (053 617203, www.cavelodge.com; B90-900), in Ban Tham, makes an excellent base for exploring the area. The owners organize trips through other caves and offer kayaking, including trips through Tham Lot, in the rainy and cool seasons (B490). Maps for self-guided walking from the lodge to local Thai Yai, Karen, Lahu and Lisu villages are available, as well as guides for full-on trekking (B1700 for 3 days). The wooden rooms and bungalows, some with their own bathrooms, are scattered over the overgrown hillside.