Phu Pha Phet Cave — Attraction in Trang Province

So first of all, the cave is amazing...the size and scope of the place is hard to describe, it is incredibly beautiful and I think everyone who comes to Southern Thailand really ought to make the time to see this cave. That being said, the place feels very SCAMMY. I understand that the price of Entry to the cave has gone from 100 baht per person for foreigners to 400 in the last year. They also charge you for parking which is just a scam and they charge you 60 baht per person for a guide. If you don't have a powerful headlight or a powerful flashlight you will need to rent one from one of the people at the dilapidated food / souvenir stalls for 20 baht. This brought our total to 1,000 Baht even for two people. This is easily one of the most expensive places I have ever been outside of Bangkok that doesn't involve some kind of elaborate tour elaborate travel or food. We were the only people there today and we spent 3 hours at the park. The people manning the souvenir and food stalls seem desperate and are very pushy. The toilets are run down and there's no soap you'd think for 400 block per person they could spring for some cheap hand soap. The rail on the steps leading up to the cave is also broken in several areas and the walkway in the cave is broken in many spots and you have to be careful and listen to the guide so you don't break your leg. You can see that the Cave used to have a lot of lighting which would have made the caverns much more visible and easy to photograph but it's clear that it's not their priority to fix this only two cash grab what they can from foreigners. Your guide will boast that to the UNESCO world heritage site and you would think that they would take some pride in that and keep the lighting working and fix the dangerous boardwalks. That being said even though it is excessively expensive it is something I will never forget and it is incredibly beautiful. Be prepared to hike up 2 or 300 steps to reach the cave and then do another few hundred stairs within the cave...your guide will speak limited English but gets the point across and our guide took the time to make sure we took our photos and enjoyed ourselves. There is absolutely no air movement within the cave so do be prepared for stagnant and humid air. You will need to crawl through the first 3 meters of the cave as the entrance is very small, however the interior is massive...gargantuan...

The Cave itself is impressive and worth visiting, but (as of Oct 2018): As a foreigner you are charged 200,- THB, that is 10x the price of a Thai person for entry in park. Than, if you come with a motorbike you pay an additional 20,- Baht for parking. Then, as you come closer to cave, you are asked to pay another 50 baht for the cave ticket itself. As you walk on, you are asked to rent/ pay for torches, which would help highlighting features inside the cave, but we have not asked for it/ prices. This is 270,- per person + torch rental. It always makes me feel bad, not to pay equal like the local people, and to pay 10 times the price really hurts me. But what really makes me angry is that you are not paying one fee and that is it. As you move on, you are stopped and asked to pay yet another time. An english speaking guide is provided, but not really needed. He only points out interisting shapes. I wish it was clear from the beginning what to pay and not to be treated 10 times worse (price wise) than Thai people. Nice cave,...

Visited on Sunday April 2023. Around 2-3hours Time 30-40min to climb up the cave entrance About 1 hour +to visit the cave due to climb up and down inside the cave with less than 10 %of function light.

The cave was very impressed by a very high and wide space inside the cave.

We couldn't understand the tour guide speaking thru the entire trip. And just heard a few words such as polar bear, Buddha statue, pyramid.

Anyone know where was the fossil or any painting at the wall?

We paying about almost 1000 bhat for 3 persons to the entrance fee and need to pay 60 bhat per person for only 1 tour guide, the tour guide can't speak English as well.

It's not the place that non mountain climber should go. Better take your own headlamp/torchlight for each person if not 20 bhat for a headlamp.

Proposal

1. repair the lights inside the cave
2. tour guide with English speaking
3. reasonable entrance fee for foreigner to attract more...