Tham Thip Nimit Ra - LP0013
18.355485,98.879743
Location
A few hundred metres north of the surfaced road to Tham Erawan, about 8 km from the main road and 3 km before the RFD ranger post. The turning is at 47Q 487072 2029158. A 300 m dirt road leads to the temple complex where some laterite steps go up to the entrance. The cave is highly developed as a shrine and it is 'shoes off' from the top of the laterite steps.
Description
As well as the Chinese temple at the bottom of the hill it is the only cave in Northern Thailand dominated by Hindu deities. An avenue flanked with Thervadas (angels) leads to a smooth black rock shaped like a shiva-lung i front of a statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of creativity and prophecy. Behind this statue steel steps lead down 3 m into the first chamber which is dominated by a large mauve statue of Shiva, the Hindu god of energy and fertility, holding a trident. This statue is lit by a skylight. A passage on the left leads to the other side of the Shiva statue where there are some Buddha and monk statues. Beyond the Buddha statues the cave is not developed, but soon closes down after 20 m.
Fauna
Plusioglyphiulus erawan Golovatch, Geoffroy, Mauries et VandenSpiegel, 2011 (Arthropoda, Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Cambalopsidae) (Golovatch et al. 2011)
Documents
Bibliography 28/03/2020- GOLOVATCH, SERGEI I; GEOFFROY, JEAN-JACQUES; MAURI+S, JEAN-PAUL; SPIEGEL, DIDIER VAN DEN (2011) "The millipede genus Plusioglyphiulus Silvestri, 1923 in Thailand (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Cambalopsidae)" Zootaxa Monograph 2940 63pp Martin, Steven Andrew (2016) "Introduction to karst topography with emphasis on Thailand and the Andaman coast" lecture notes, Education Abroad Asia 85pp SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 VOGT, NILS B. (2013) "Temple Caves & Grottoes in Thailand: A Picture-Guide Book" Booksmango, Bangkok ISBN 978-616-222-160-6 214pp
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.2 | Tham Erawan [LP0012] | 325 | 13 |
| 6.1 | Tham Tap Ngae [LP0037] | ||
| 6.9 | Tham Russi - LP0002 | 10 | 0 |
| 9.7 | Tham Ma Fa [LP0044] | 100 | 0 |
| 10.4 | Tham Pha Daeng [LP0043] | ||
| 10.8 | Tham Shan Sam Keut [LP0046] | ||
| 10.8 | Tham Sam Yot [LP0045] | ||
| 11.1 | Cave TML4 [LP0047] | ||
| 11.2 | Tham Toh Nam [LP0039] | 200 | 0 |