Tham Phet Pho Thong — Attraction in Sa Kaeo Province

One word: WOW!

This had to be one of the most amazing cave experiences in our travels throughout the world. Not because of the size, but because it’s so nice, and has no people, and the energy around this place is special.

We only went to one of the caves (there are apparently more) and spent more than an hour inside just admiring the rock formations and great green colors of moss growing on the rocks at one opening. The caves are basically 3 sections. First when you enter there is a medium size hall with steps at the rear side leading to a middle section that has a wide opening letting in a lot of light. Continue from there towards the right side through a small corridor like walkway that leads to some wooden stairs up to the great cathedral – this is the main part of the cave and simply amazing. The cathedral has a large stone pillar in the middle that must have been created over thousands of years from slow dripping calcium. From the pillar there are several small walkways to the different corners of the cathedral. To the rear right there is an additional tunnel leading to a small altar with offerings.

The cave has some sparce lighting, many light bulbs were not working when we visited. It’s recommended to bring your own torch - the LED light on your phone will work too if you don’t have a torch The main cathedral was well lit though, it seems that they focused the lights to where they are making the biggest impact – smart!

Getting to the caves is easy but involves some walking. We arrived around 11am to an empty carpark. There was one lady selling drinks, but other than that it was completely deserted and looked abandoned. Many of the picnic tables along the path were overgrown and reclaimed by nature. At the carpark there is a little temple. Walk through a gate to the left of the temple up a paved road. After about 300meters there’s an abandoned building with two walkways, leading to the caves. take the path going straight from the paved road for the big cave which is about 400m through the forest on a narrow path, , look at my picture for directions .Wear long pants if you don’t want to brush your legs against the shrubs. turn right for the smaller cave up on the mountainside – it’s apparently quite some stairs to climb. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about the other caves until after we already left the site.

Tip: turn off data roaming on your mobile phone: our phone switched to a Cambodian mobile network while we walked to the cave. You may incur high roaming fees if you’re data roaming.

Entrance to the caves is free: a donation box was located by the altar in...

Visited there on the way from Angkor Wat to Bangkok. Good place to visit if you are passing by and a rewarding view after a small hike up, after visiting the cave. Tips: bring light clothes, torch light, charged camera, a rain jacket if rain is expected and wear good non-slippery shoes.

To use google maps, search for: ถ้ำเพชรโพธิ์ทอง. After parking your car, walk on the asphalted road until the road curve into a u turn shape. Turn left right after the small building with blue roof and follow the trail. When met with a major cross road on the trail , take the left. It should be a minute walk before you see the cave entrance.

When you walk after parking your car, enjoy the beautiful trees and plants on both sides of the road. A tree growing inside the trunk of a dead tree, diverse plants and old woods and some animals. If you have children, keep an eye, walk in front in case there is a snake. It should be safe but just in case...

Please bring a rubbish bag and don't leave anything behind.

There's a small donation box at the entrance please donate generously and don't touch the local religious items. The cave is lit and you could spot tens of small bats hanging from the roof. If you look carefully, you will also spot their drippings!

I'll leave some pictures but they don't do this place justice.

After visiting the cave, The hike up to the view point is easy if you are healthy and wear the right shoes. Even kids can do it and some people go up wearing flip flops but I don't think it is a good idea- especially when...

Travel date: 29/7/2024

It seems to be an attraction with proper routes and facilities before this, but the whole path is now abandoned and slowly reclaimed by nature. The caretaker at the entrance, who seemed uninterested generally, told me that the place is now closed due to many falling trees, but I believe there might be many other reasons as well.

One could still visit this place, but make sure you're equipped with proper hiking gear, a bright torchlight (it was pitch black in the cave and this deterred me from going further into the cave, the place seemed to be light up before this as I could see remnants of wires) and mosquito repellent (so many mosquitoes!), and exploring the cave is TOTALLY AT YOUR OWN RISK as the cave is located quite a distance from the entrance with the caretaker and as you go in deeper there would be no mobile phone signal available in case of emergency.

Not sure whether they will reopen the place again in future but I would love to visit again if...