Lod Cave

Dates: 11 Mar

The only cave I have ever been to is Tiger Cave, during my road trip around Koh Lanta, and I didn’t go into the cave much at all there because we didn’t get the guide. I’d heard lots about Lod Cave and none of it bad, so when I planned my trip here I made sure to plan to get a proper guide to show me through (though I did find out when there that you have to go in with a guide anyway).

I’ll never forget the first proper cave I went into, it was incredible. All through I couldn’t help but think about the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings, or caves out of games like Skyrim – as that’s the only other place I’ve ever seen anything like this before. Lod Cave is huge, cavern after cavern with an unfathomably high roof only just visible from the light provided by the lantern from your guide.

The guide didn’t explain a lot, just pointing out various stalactites and stalagmites that take the shape of other things i.e. a crocodile, the map of Thailand, and a boob (yes, there is a stalactite in Lod Cave that looks like a boob). At the end of the day though, for 450baht (which can be split between a few people), a science & history lesson on caves can’t be expected.

After the first two parts of the cave you get on a bamboo raft to the third and final section of the cave which is full of bats creating a cacophony of noise fluttering about overhead.

Once done you can either opt to go back on the bamboo raft to the start or walk out of the cave and follow a short path through the forest back to the start, this route is very easy to follow and personally is the better option so you see something new, and it only takes 10 minutes & leads you right back to the entrance.

Not only is Lod Cave incredible, but it’s 1h45m outside of Pai driving through the beautiful mountains and countryside. I stopped a few times on the way back, and also saw a spectacular sunset.

The faint remnants of an ancient cave painting

The exit of the cave, to the left is the path back to the entrance