Thursday 31 July 2014

Phraya Nakhon Cave in the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in Thailand

To reach the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in Thailand to go to the Phraya Nakhon Cave we went to the Bang Pu village in the Pranburi area near Hua Hin. Khao Sam Roi Yot means mountains with 300 peaks. 

One has to go through the muddy waters to take the boat

There we took a boat and therefore on both sides had to wade in muddy water as it was the time of low tide.

The trekking path to the cave

The trek to the cave is not a long one and by gradient also I would rate it as a easy trek though for the first timers the climb was too steep and were taking rests every few steps.

The view of the Gulf of Thailand from the trek to the cave

One gets a beautiful view of the Gulf of Thailand and surrounding areas from half way atop this trek to the cave. As the Gulf of Thailand is a sheltered gulf therefore its waters are calmer and bluer compared to several other beaches.

The path leading to the two caves

The caves are formed by the water’s erosive action over a long period of time. The rock in the area is mainly limestone as a result of which the cave has beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and columns and being a geographer it gave me much pleasure to watch them. 

Formation of stalactites, stalagmites & columns

The cave is a very popular tourist attraction contributing to the local economy. But despite the fact that I saw several tourist the place was absolutely green and beautiful with no litter at all. 

The natural bridge formation at the cave

The cave consists of two caverns with sunlight filtering in due to the collapsed roofs. One of them also has formed a natural bridge – from underneath it looks like a flyover.

The Pavilion

The second cavern has a beautiful Pavilion. King Rama V got this Tetrahedron Pavilion built in Bangkok and it was carried from there and reassembled at this location.

The Pavilion at the second cavern

The Pavilion is also the symbol of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province of Thailand. Three Thai kings have visited this place over time.

A Dusky Langur on the way

The area is also a birder’s paradise with over a thousand species of birds inhabiting the area. I also saw Dusky Langurs which are of a different species than the ones found in India.


A bird in the area

It was a wonderful and memorable experience and I would highly recommend this to all nature enthusiasts.

7 comments:

Mridula said...

Walking to the beach in slush was fun indeed!

Anil Yadav said...

Not only it is fun some people also believe the mud has medicinal values and there are mud beaches in several part of the world where people apply mud all over their bodies.

Unknown said...

Thailand is always attract people for its outstanding places . those are the limestones caves developed naturally and having amazing shapes
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Anil Yadav said...

Yes these are natural caves.

Unknown said...

This article is just wow. Its a beautiful destination and attracts tourists all over world. I would love to be there once in my life.
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Anil Yadav said...

Thanks Pradeep Kumar. I am sure you would get an oppurtunity yo do visit Thailand.

Swaati Chaudhury said...

A trek to the Phraya Nakhon cave is a life- changing experience.