Phraya Nakhon Cave
Interesting facts
- A natural stone bridge spans the top of the cave's skylight, nicknamed the Death Bridge because wild animals have fallen from it to their deaths.
- The design of the Kuha Karuhas Pavilion is credited to a member of the royal family, Prince Prap Porapak, rather than to an ordinary court builder.
- King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, came to the cave in 1863, 1886, 1888, 1889 and 1890, and Rama VI, Rama VII and Rama IX also visited later.
- According to one tradition, a Phraya Nakhon who executed the poet Si Prat without royal consent hid in this cave and was eventually put to death here.
- Another tradition says a governor fled after Burmese forces tricked him into believing the capital had fallen, and found the cave sheltering from storms on his return.
- The cave's inner chamber holds limestone shapes carved by water, including a natural rock bridge and a stone said to resemble a crocodile's head.
- Khao Sam Roi Yot, the park around the cave, was created in 1966 as Thailand's first coastal national park.
- Local lore explains the park's name, Mountain of Three Hundred Peaks, in rival ways, including 300 survivors of a wrecked Chinese junk who sheltered on the hills.
- In 1868 King Mongkut probably hosted European guests in this area to watch a total solar eclipse he had predicted more accurately than French astronomers.
- In 2020 archaeologists announced the discovery of rock paintings about 3,000 years old, showing hunters with bows, in caves elsewhere in the same park.
Why it is worth it
Phraya Nakhon Cave, in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park on Thailand's Gulf coast, is famous for a single image: a small royal pavilion standing in a shaft of sunlight that falls through a collapsed section of the cave roof. The Kuha Karuhas Pavilion, a four-gabled structure in red and gold built by Bangkok craftsmen in 1890 for King Rama V's visit, sits beneath this natural skylight, and at certain times of day the light pours straight onto it. It has become one of the most photographed sights in the country and appears on the emblem of Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
The cave takes its name from a ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat, although which Phraya Nakhon is meant remains uncertain. Tradition offers two versions: one from the reign of King Narai in the seventeenth century, another from the time of King Rama I, when a governor sheltering from a storm on the way back to his city is said to have found the cave. Along the path there is a brick-lined well about 4 metres deep, known as Phraya Nakhon's Well and attributed to him. Several kings came here afterwards — Rama IV recorded a visit, and Rama V came more than once between 1863 and 1890 — and the initials of Rama V and Rama VII are carved into the rock.
The cave has two chambers. The first, larger one holds the pavilion; the second, visited less often, has stalactites and stalagmites. Reaching it is part of the experience: the approach involves a boat trip to Laem Sala beach and then a forested walk of about 430 metres up the hillside.
Getting there
The cave is in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, about 17 km from the town of Sam Roi Yot. The nearest airport is Hua Hin Airport (HHQ), about 49 km away. Access is by boat to Laem Sala beach followed by a walk.
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From the encyclopaedia
The Phraya Nakhon cave is a cave in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Thailand. It features the royal Kuha Karuhas Pavilion, illuminated by natural sunlight through a large skylight. The cave is accessible by a forested hike and has two chambers with rock formations as well as ancient inscriptions.
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