Tham Lod Cave, Mae Hong Son
A river cave over a kilometre long, crossed by bamboo raft, with prehistoric teak coffins inside.
Tham Lod Cave, Mae Hong Son
Tham Lod is a limestone cave in Pang Mapha district, north of Mae Hong Son, through which the Nam Lang river runs for well over a kilometre. Visiting means going with a lantern-carrying guide and taking a bamboo raft along the underground river between the chambers, which is the only practical way through.
Three large caverns open off the route, reached by wooden stairways from the water, with substantial stalactite and column formations. One holds the remains of carved teak coffins on wooden trestles, over a thousand years old, left by people about whom almost nothing is known - they are found in caves throughout this district and nowhere else.
At dusk several hundred thousand swifts return to roost in the cave mouth while the bats leave in the opposite direction, and the exchange goes on for the best part of an hour.
- Ban Rak Thai, Mae Hong Son — A Yunnanese tea-growing village around a lake on the Burmese border, settled by former Kuomintang soldiers.
- Su Tong Pae Bridge, Mae Hong Son — A long bamboo footbridge across the paddy fields, built by villagers and monks to reach a hillside monastery.
- Wat Chong Kham and Wat Chong Klang, Mae Hong Son — Two Shan temples side by side on the lake in the middle of Mae Hong Son, reflected in the water at night.
- Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, Mae Hong Son — Two white Burmese-style chedis on the hill above the town, looking down on the morning mist.
