Tham Lod is in the Soppong area of Pai and approximately a 40-minute drive. Tour agencies in Pai run caving trips or tourists can hire a motorcycle or car to make the trip. Tham Lod is a warren-like structure which is more than 1,600 metres at its longest point. There is no lighting in the cave and streams run through it.
Guides are compulsory for trips through Tham Lod and the main part of the journey is via bamboo raft. Due to the lack of lighting, the raft trip is surreal and made even more so by the swish of shoals of fish hovering and waiting for food and the dank odour of bat guano.
At the entrance to sub-caverns, guides escort visitors in. Stalactites and stalagmites in the caves are an awesome sight when lit up by torch. Teakwood coffins said by locals to be more than 1,000 years old are in some of the caves.
Travellers wishing to buy bus tickets for use on the Mae Hong Son Loop will find the service provided by 12GO ASIA is convenient and expedient.
A raft trip through Tham Lod Cave in Pai
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Pai is a laid back town and popular tourist destination in Northern Thailand. It is located on the eastern side of what is commonly known as the Mae Hong Son Loop. This route enables travellers to complete a circuit that begins in Chiang Mai and takes in Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, Pai and then back to Chiang Mai.