Khao Luang cave

Shafts of daylight fall through openings in the roof of a great limestone chamber and land on rows of gilded Buddha images, so that the inside of a modest hill on the edge of Phetchaburi glows like the nave of a temple. Tham Khao Luang is a karst cave inside Khao Luang hill, a low rise of only about 90 metres, and the contrast between the unremarkable outside and the scale of the hollow within is the first thing that strikes anyone who walks down into it.

From the foot of the hill a stairway climbs to the entrance, and from there steps lead down into a sequence of connected chambers. The largest is lit almost entirely by the natural skylights in its ceiling; the light moves across the floor as the day goes on, picking out stalactites and the textured, damp walls. The cave has long been a place of worship rather than a natural curiosity alone. Somewhere between 170 and 180 Buddha images, by different counts, stand along its walls and in its chambers, together with small stupas and a replica of the Buddha's footprint. The most venerated is an image cast at the command of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and dedicated to two of his predecessors, King Nang Klao (Rama III) and King Mongkut (Rama IV).

The cave's royal associations date mainly from the reign of King Mongkut in the mid-19th century. Accounts from that period record royal visits, the restoration of older images in the cave and the building of stone steps to make it easier to reach. Phetchaburi itself is an old provincial town south-west of Bangkok, known for its many temples and for Phra Nakhon Khiri, the hilltop palace built for King Mongkut on Khao Wang, about 5 km from the cave.

Getting there

The cave is in Thong Chai subdistrict, about 3 km from the centre of Phetchaburi, reached from Highway 4 by turning onto Highway 3173. Phetchaburi has a station on the railway line south from Bangkok. The nearest airport is Hua Hin Airport (HHQ), about 55 km to the south.