Tham Phum - CR0012
20.349153,99.857068
Location
Between Tham Plah and Tham Luang, 3km west of the main road 10km south of Mae Sai. A twisting road with many junctions leads to the well-known temple close to the mouth of a steep-sided valley cutting through the mountains. The cave temple is at the top of a flight of 85 steps just behind the temple.
Description
This is one of the most sacred caves in Thailand, said to have been visited not onlyy by Buddha Gotama himself, but also by three previous Buddhas and prophesied by the future Buddha Ariyametta as well. A naga staircase leads to a tiled platform at the cave entrance with a beautiful view out over the plain. A graceful vase-shaped passage houses a group of statues of the Buddha accompanied by nine disciples in orange robes. Further on a reclining Buddha and two seated Buddhas on brick pedestals have been placed in natural alcoves shaped like nagas. The main passage meanders on for another 120 m, ending at a shrine and group of decaying Buddha statues which are a potent reminder of the impermanence of wordly things.
Fauna
Althepus pum Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995 (Arthropoda, Arachnida, Araneae, Araneomorphae, Ochyroceratidae) û type locality (Deeleman-Reinhold 1995) Taphozous melanopogon Temminck, 1841 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Emballonuridae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986) Aselliseus stoliczkanus Dobson, 1871 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986) Hipposideros lylei Thomas, 1913 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986)
Topographie
DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1988) - Grade 3
Documents
[Topo] Tham Phum 28/04/2019Bibliography 10/08/2019
- +Barlow, Joel John (n.d.) "Chiang Rai Guide û Caves" www.chiangraiprovince.com/guide/eng/15.htm [accessed December 2011 inaccessible December 2016] +DEELEMAN-REINHOLD, CHRISTA L. (1995) "The Ochyroceratidae of the Indo-Pacific Region (Araneae)" Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Suppliment No. 2 pp1-103 +DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1988) "ExpÚditions Tha´ 87-Tha´ 88" Association PyrÚnÚenne de SpÚlÚologie, Toulouse ISBN 2-906273-02-3 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 +Kotsupho, Phisit (2016) "The Nan local wisdom: The unseen manuscripts" Journal of International Buddhist Studies Vol. 7 No. 1 June 2016 pp25-40 +MUNIER, CHRISTOPHE (1998) "Sacred Rocks and Buddhist Caves in Thailand" White Lotus Co. Ltd, Bangkok ISBN 974-8434-19-2 266pp ***Robinson, Mark F.; Jenkins, Paulina D.; Francis, Charles M.; Fulford, Anthony J.C. (2003) "A new species of the Hipposideros pratti group (Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) from Lao PDR and Vietnam" Acta Chiropterologica Vol. 5 No. 1 pp31-48 +SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 +SPONSEL, LESLIE E.; NATADECHA-SPONSEL, PORANEE (2003) "The Monk-Cave-Bat-Ecosystem Complex in Thailand" in CHAPPEL, DAVID W. (ED.) "Socially Engaged Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Sulak Sivaraksa on his 70th Birthday" Saithirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, Bangkok, pp255-270. Reprinted in GOTTLIEB, ROGER S. (2004) "This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment" Routledge, New York, pp134-144 +SUWANNABUN (1981) +VOGT, NILS B. (2013) "Temple Caves & Grottoes in Thailand: A Picture-Guide Book" Booksmango, Bangkok ISBN 978-616-222-160-6 214pp WARREN, W. (1985) "Thailand's Beautiful Caves" Sawasdee (Thai Airlines Magazine) Vol. 14 No. 10 pp15-21 YENBUTRA, SONGSAKDI; FELTON, HEINZ (1986) "Bat Species and Their Distribution in Thailand According to the Collections in TISTR and SMF" in FELTON, HEINZ (ED.) "Contributions to the Knowledge of the Bats of Thailand" Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt Vol. 87 pp9-45
Caves nearby
Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
---|---|---|---|
0.4 | Tham Sua [CR0086] | 5 | 0 |
1.6 | Tham Luang Nang Non [Tham Luang] | 10316 | 85 |
1.6 | Cave CR0011 - CR0011 | ||
2.0 | Cave CR0101 | ||
2.1 | Sink CR0103 | ||
2.1 | Cave CR0102 | ||
2.2 | Tham Ku Kaeo - CR0010 | 530 | 10 |
2.4 | Tham Plah - CR0013 | ||
2.5 | Tham Plaew Plong Fah - CR0015 | 54 | 7 |