Tham Khon Kae [KA0471]
14.604805,98.458329
Location
This cave is located in a tower about 5km south of Samsok Mining 2. Walk along the track from the settlement for about an hour, crossing the river once and passing an orange plantation. Partway up a hill a path leaves the track and heads west through the forest. The footpath leads after several hundred metres around the front of a large limestone tower which has the obvious cave entrance in the front and a derelict wooden building nearby. Estimated position from Dean Smart's notes.
Description
Three entrances join immediately at a reasonably large chamber with a tiny stream flowing across the floor. This water emerges from and sinks into boulders. At the back of the chamber a 2m climb leads to a hole in the floor where the stream can be seen again and a further 2m climb up. Above this is a fourth entrance at the top of a boulder slope and a large passage heading eastwards over large boulders and guano. The passage can be followed for 40m to a complete choke of mud and boulders. A very low crawl off from here was not pushed. Near to the fourth entrance a narrow rift passage leads to a series of connected chambers. These contain much large breakdown and a hole down to the stream again. a smaller walking sized passage can be found at the back of these rooms with the stream flowing along the floor. Exploration stopped where one wall became a muddy boulder choke. Although the stream can be seen emerging at the foot of a 2m drop through boulders this was judged too dangerous to push.
Topographie
SMART, DEAN (1996) - Grade UISv2 3-3-A
Fauna
Btas; cricket; beetles; millipedes
Documents
Bibliography 22/09/2019- SMART, DEAN (1996) "Caves of Thong Pha Phum National Park, Kanchanaburi Province, W. Thailand" Royal Forest Department, Bangkok unpublished report 11pp
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Tham Chet Mit - KA0350 | 270 | 41 |
| 1.2 | Tham Chet Mit 3 - KA0352 | 10 | 0 |
| 1.3 | Tham Chet Mit Resurgence Cave - KA0351 | 10 | 0 |
| 12.6 | Tham Nar Tang [KA0468] | 74 | 2 |
| 12.6 | Tham Phra - KA0354 | 100 | 25 |
| 12.7 | Tham Khao Noi [KA0441] | 75 | 25 |
| 12.8 | Tham Khao Noi 2 [KA0467] | 20 | 0 |
| 16.3 | Tham Pong Chang [KA0598] | ||
| 18.0 | Tham Nam Khao Tha Khanun - KA0235 | 125 | 0 |