Pha Nong Khoi Cave, Phrae Province, Thailand

5Jeep 5:00 PM Nov 24, 2022

Nice cave + Sad legend
Legend has it that around 800 years ago, a princess of Sanwee kingdom named "Aranyanee" fell in love with a common man (which was against the royal law). The princess was pregnant, so she and her man decided to run away together. They both were hunted by a group of soldiers. The princess was fatally shot at her chest, before they both managed to struggle to reach this cave. The princess gave birth to her son inside the cave and told her man to run away for his life. The legend says that the princess intended to wait for her man forever and that caused her to transform into stone. What a tragedy! After we had parked our car, we walked about 100 m on a rock stairway up the hill to access the cave. Although the tranquil cave is in the middle of a forest, it was very well maintained. The wooden path makes this limestone cave easy to explore, while a lot of colored lights (green/red/blue/yellow) make it looks fantastic. The balmy-weather cave is full of stalactites and stalagmites with a little stream running through. There are 13 checkpoints (each with legend described in a notice board) along the path. The last checkpoint at the end of the cave is "The Waiting Princess", stalagmites that resembles a woman holding a small child with a heart-shaped stalactite in front of her. There're some Buddha images near this point. Moreover, after we had visited the cave, we also enjoyed feeding animals (deer/goats/chickens) at the entrance of the place. อรัญญานี..จะคอยพี่...อยู่ที่นี่ แม้ร้อยปี....นานเท่านาน....ยังคงหวัง ขอเฝ้าคอย...แม้จะสิ้น....ลมพลัง ชาติหน้ายัง...คงคอยพี่...อยู่ที่เดิม Such a sorrowful story! This place has no entrance fee. Don't miss this place. Truly recommend!

4Tinamue 5:00 PM Dec 9, 2019

Beautiful lights
The cave is long and large areas of the floor are flooded during the rainy season. There is an elevated path winding through the cave and colored lights pointed at walks and ceiling. The light reflects beautifully in the water. In the dry season, the cave floor is dry. A local police officer I met at the parking lot told me that roughly two months per year, access is prohibited due to too much water, so maybe it is a good idea to check in advance before visiting late in the rainy season. However, I think one can access the rear of the cave all year round as one can also enter the cave by walking around to the left and then descend down a staircase.