The beautiful Tam Lod Cave in Northern Thailand

When we were in Pai (a town in Northern Thailand), we came across a lot of recommendations for a tour at caves that are 49 km from Pai. When we read of Tam Lod (the caves) we realized that the area, Soppong, had a good reputation and we could explore more and even spend a night or 2.

We decided that instead of going on a day trip of just seeing the caves, we’ll go for 2 nights and explore the entire area. And so, we rented a scooter for 3 days and left first thing in the morning. The drive was not easy. The road was really curvy with a lot of sharp turns, so if you don’t have much experience with riding a scooter then I recommend taking a shuttle, or getting there with a car.

We got to the cave area and we started searching for a place to spend the night. We spotted a large sign that said ‘Pen Cave Homestay.’ We walked inside, and I instantly fell in love. The rooms are cute bungalows with a big bed. There is a large garden with a lot of trees and other plants, and it was such a lovely place. There is also a patio with large tables and a little chill area. The owner said she makes organic food in case we wanted her to cook for us. Obviously we ended up taking the bungalow for 500 Baht per night.

After booking, we went to the caves which were about 20 minutes away. When we got there we got a guide to help us explore the caves. The tour was also combined with a canoe ride.

The caves are pitch black, and we had to take a torch with us. The guide pointed out everything with her torch which created a mysterious and dark effect. The tour was about an hour and a half long.

After the caves we went back to the bungalow, and we had dinner. The food was great, and it was really nice to just chill in the patio.

Hiking

On the next day we went on a 7 and a half hour hike to a village of the mountain tribe, and we went on another tour in a different cave. The track was challenging and the cave was beautiful, but not as nice as yesterday’s cave.

The lady from our hotel wrote us a map of how to get to the tribe and how to come back. She offered that we will look for a local that will take us to the caves since they are hard to track down.

Before leaving we asked her to book us a massage for the evening, so we got back and the masseuses were already waiting for us. They gave us a massage of 2 hours (the longest one of our trip). The treatment was very professional and it relaxed all of our muscles. When we finished dinner was served.

We would stay for longer than 2 nights without a doubt, but we had already made plans we couldn’t cancel. If you’re even in Pai, you should definitely pay a visit to the caves. It was even better staying at Pen’s bungalows, the experience was just amazing and we enjoyed every moment.