Tham Lod - MH0001
19.565228,98.278951
Location
Close to Ban Tham Lod, 9km north of Ban Soppong on a surface road, signposted from the H1095 slightly northeast of the market. The road ends at Tham Lod Nature Education Centre where there is a large car park and several food stalls. An excellent trail leads from here to the cave inflow entrance, 300m to the south. There is no entrance charge or artificial lighting system installed anywhjere in the cave. Guides with lanterns can be hired from the car park and bamboo rafts are available at the cave entrance. The RFD have recently announced their intention to charge visitors 40 to 200 baht per person in the near future.
Description
The cave is open to visitors throughout the year, although at the height of the wet season the bridge across to the north chamber often gets washed away and it is not possible to wade or take a raft down the river to the outflow. This is a very impressive, extraordinarily heavily decorated through cave carrying the Nang Lang river...Lying just west of a pre-existing surface course of the Nam Lang the cave is developed on three levels. The main stream passage is about 20m wide and 20-30m high for most of the 600m length. Beyond the 30m wide, 10m high upstream entrance a large shelf a few metres above the stream leads after 120m to a side passage on the right leading up to Tham Sao Hin, a well decorated chamber dominated by a huge column and a superb vantage point from which to view the stream apssage. Directly across the river from Tham Sao Hin wooden ladders ascended to passages rising over large gours to the highly decorated Tham Song and Tham Tukkata, the later ending in chambers with high CO2 levels. Below, the walls and roof of the stream passage (Tham Neung) are almost entirely lined with stalactites, draperies and flowstone on a massive scale, best appreciated from one of the high level vantage points. It is necessary to wade across the stream in several places and in the wet season the lower part of the cave may become difficult to traverse...The downstream entrance is 30m high and wide, opening to an attractive vista of forest. A short distance inside this entrance ladders lead steeply up to a viewing platform with a wonderful view to the forest beyond, a fine site fom which to observe the flight of swifts into the cave at dusk each day. Behind this a passage in the dark zone (Tham Phi Man or Tham Sam) leads to about ten decaying coffins in an advanced state of vandalism.
Topography
The cave was surveyed by the Australian expeditions in 1983 and 1992. The location of the survey notes is unknown. DEHARVENG, LOUIS, ET AL. (1986) republished in ZEITOUN, VAL+RY; FORESTIER, HUBERT; NAKBUNLANG, SUPAPORN (2008) DILOKVANIT (2000) DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) SHOOCONGDEJ, RASMI (2000) WIGFALL, MARK (1988) - sketch survey by John Spies The cave has also been mapped by Thai Geographic.
Fauna
Angustopila tamlod (Panha et Burch, 1999) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pupilloidea, Vertiginidae) û type locality (Panha and Burch 1999) Elaphoidella intermedia Chappuis, 1931 (Arthropoda, Crustacea, Maxilliopoda, Harpacticoida, Canthocamptidae) (Watiroyram et al. 2015) Prokoenenia asiatica CondÚ, 1994 (Arthropoda, Arachnida, Palpigradi, Eukoenenioidea, Prokoeneniidae) (CondÚ 1994) Paratachycines (Paratachycines) thailandensis Gorochov, 2002 (Arthropoda, Insecta, Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoroidea, Raphidophoridae) (Gorochov 2002) Cyrtodactylus erythrops Bauer, Kunya, Sumontha, Niyomwan, Panitvong, Pauwels, Chanhome et Kunya, 2009 (Chordata, Reptilia, Squamata, Gekkonidae) û type locality (Bauer et al. 2009)
Documents
[Topo] Tham Lod 12/05/2019Bibliography 09/04/2020
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Vol. 4. pp94-95 +ATTHAKOR, PLOENPOTE (1999) "Caves under threat says Research Team" Bangkok Post 9 August 1999 +BAECHLER, ALEX (2000) "Caving In Thailand" Wild Isle Issue No. 12 August-September 2000 pp17-18 +BAUER, AARON, M.; KUNYA, KIRATI; SUMONTHA, MONTRI; NIYOMWAN, PIYAWAN; PANITVONG, NONN; PAUWELS, OLIVIER S.G.; CHANHOME, LAWAN; KUNYA, TUNYAKORN (2009) "Crytodactylus erythrops (Squamata: Gekkonidae), a new cave-dwelling gecko from Mae Hong Son province, Thailand" Zootaxa No. 2124 pp51-62 +Boland, Ken (1992a) "Caving in Thailand" Australian Caver No. 132 pp7-9 +BOLAND, KEN (1992) "NW Thailand - The Story So Far" International Caver No. 5 pp30-35 +Brison, David N. (2008) "Karst classique et des tropiques diverses grottes cÚlÞbres amÚnagÚes en SlovÚnie et en Tha´lande" La Lettre, SpÚlÚo-Club de Paris No. 263 March 2008 +BRISON, DAVID N. (2010a) "The Thai Cave Stamps" Speleo Stamp Collector No. 86 October 2010 pp14-17 +Brouquisse, Francois; Dalger, Daniel; Bakalowicz, Michel (1988) "RÚsultats HydrogÚochemiques des ExpÚditions Thai-Maros 86 et Thai 87" Expeditions de l'APS en Asie du Sud-est: Travaux Scientifiques û 1. Association PyrÚnÚenne de SpÚlÚologie, Toulouse ISBN 2-906273-03-1 pp-5-16 (French) +BURGESS, STEVE (2011) "Follow the Bouncing Light" Calgary Herald 9 September 2011 +CARSON, AARON (2006) "Caving in Soppong!" www.travelblog.ord/Asia/Thailand/Northern-Thailand… +CISCO [PSEUD.]; STUCK [PSEUD.] (2001) "The Thailand Trip of 2000" www.wmceg.freeserve.co.uk/reports/thailand.htm +CLARAC, A.; PAGAU-CLARAC, H. (1985) "Thailande: Guide Touristique" DK Book House, Bangkok ISBN 974-2104-174 508pp +COATES, KAREN J. (2009) "Mystery of the Log Coffin Culture" Archaeology September/October 2009 pp49-54 +COGGAN, MARJORIE; DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; ANDERSON, NEIL (EDS.) (1999) "Tham Sanuk: The Lighter Side Of Caving In Thailand" Canberra, 76pp +COND+, BRUNO (1994a) "Palpigrades cavernicoles et endogÚs de Tha´lande et de CÚlÞbes (2e note)" Revue Suisse Zoologie Vol. 101 No. 1 p233-263 +DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1986) "ExpÚdition Tha´-Maros 85" Association PyrÚnÚenne de SpÚlÚologie, Toulouse ISBN 2-906273-00-7 +DE VOOGD, OTTO (2005) "Tham Lod" www.infohub.com/forums +DILOKWANICH, S. ET AL. (2000) "An Exploration and Database System of the Caves, Mae Hong Son Province" 6 Vols. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok - STD632, 84 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1983) "Karst and Caves of Thailand: A Reconnaissance Report" Proceedings 14th Biennial Conference Australian Speleological Federation pp146-150 +Dunkley, John Robert (1985a) "Karst and Caves of the Nam Lang - Nam Khong Region, North Thailand" Helictite Vol. 23 No. 1 pp3-22 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1985b) "Further Under The Golden Triangle" Australian Caver No. 108 pp2-5 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 +Dunkley, John Robert (2011) "Big Caves in Laos" Calcite No. 43 pp23-29 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) "Caves of North-west Thailand: Report of the Australian Speleological Expeditions 1983-1986" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-2-1 62pp +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; GREENFIELD, PAUL (1983) "Under the Golden Triangle: Caving in North Thailand" Australian Speleological Federation Newsletter No. 102 pp4-6 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2010i) "Shepton in Siam" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 12 No. 5 pp262-269 +ELLIS, MARTIN; PAUWELS, OLIVIER S. G. (2012) "The Bent-toed Geckos (Cyrtodactylus) of the caves and karst of Thailand" Cave and Karst Science Vol. 39 No. 1 pp16-22 ***Fernßndez, Dani (2017) "De cuevas por el Sureste Asißtico. Cap. 2. EspeleologÝa en Tailandia" Club Abismo Grupo Espeleol¾gico 14 September 2017 +FOAKES, MARTIN (1998) "Caving in North-West Thailand" International Caver No. 22 pp32-35 +FONTAINE, HENRI; SUTEETHORN, VARAVUDH; VACHARD, DANIEL (1993) "Carboniferous and Permian Limestones in Sop Pong area: Unexpected Lithology and Fossils" Proceedings of the International Symposium on Biostratigraphy of Mainland Southeast Asia: Facies and Paleontology. Chiang Mai. pp319-336 +GLOVER, IAN; PRICE, LIZ (2004) "Asia, Southeast: Archaeological Caves" in GUNN, JOHN (ED.) "Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science" Fitzroy Dearborn, London ISBN 1-57958-399-7 pp107-109 +GOODDEN, CHRISTIAN (2002) "Three Pagodas" 2nd revised & expanded edition, Jungle Books (Halesworth), England ISBN 0-9527393-4-1 448pp +Grave, Peter; Spies, John; Barbetti, Mike; Hotchkis, Mike (1994) "Dating the log coffins of Northwest Thailand" IPPA Conference, Chiang Mai, 5-12 January 1994 +GREENWALD, JEFF (2002) "The Burning Hills" in O'REILLY, JAMES & HABEGGER, LARRY (EDS.) "Travelers' Tales Thailand" Travelers' Tales, ISBN 0885211759 pp185-197 +HOSIE, PAUL (2010) "Under the Top of Thailand. Part One û Cave Lodge" Caves Australia No. 182 pp19-21 +Houle, Brian (2013) "Songkran/Tham Lod" Product of ND blog 16 April 2013 bhoule187.blogspot.com/2013/04/songkran-tham-lod.h… +Jochum, Adrienne; Slapnik, Rajko; Kampschulte, Marian; Martels, Gunhild; Heneka, Markus; Pßll-Gergely, Barna (2014) "A review of the microgastropod genus Systenostoma Bavay & Dautzenberg, 1908 and a new subterranean species from China (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Hypselostomatidae)" ZooKeys Vol. 410 pp23-40 +JONES, COLLEEN (1996) "Management of Tourist Impact Within Caves in Thailand's National Parks" Tigerpaper Vol. 23 No. 4 (Oct-Dec 1996) pp14-17 +JONES, MARK (2013b) "A Trip into Mae Hong Son: Part One û Tales of Coffins, Caves and Hill Tribes" Megaworldasia blog 4 February 2013 www.megaworldasia.com/2013/02/04/a-trip-into-mae-h… +JONES, MARK (2013d) "A Trip into Mae Hong Son: Part Three û Sunrises, Sink Holes and more Caves" Megaworldasia blog 4 February 2013 www.megaworldasia.com/2013/02/04/a-trip-into-mae-h… +JUSKALIAN, RUSS (2011) "Caves and Kayaks in a Quiet Corner of Thailand" New York Times Travel 7 October 2011 travel.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/travel/ban-tham-lod-… [accessed 9 October 2011] also published in Seattle Times 9 October 2011 seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2016411069_t… [accessed 14 October 2011] +KETMAIER, VALERIO; DI RUSSO, CLAUDIO; RAMPINI, MAURO; BERNHARDT, NADINE; TIEDEMANN, RALPH; COBOLLI, MARINA (2013) "Molecular Divergence and Evolutionary relationships among Aemodogryllinae from Southern China, Laos amd Thailand (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)" Subterranean Biology Vol. 10 pp25-35 +Kiernan, Kevin (1988e) "Geomorphology of a tropical intermontane basin in the Sino-Burman Ranges" 26th International Geographical Congress 1988, International Geological Union, Sydney pp1-24 +Kiernan, Kevin (1991b) "Tropical mountain geomorphology and landscape evolution in North-west Thailand" Zeitschrift f³r Geomorphologie N.F. Vol. 35 No. 2 pp187-206 +Kiernan, Kevin; Spies, John; Dunkley, John Robert (1988) "Prehistoric occupation and burial sites in the mountains of the Nam Khlong area, Mae Hong Son Province, Northwestern Thailand" Australian Archaeology No. 27 pp24-44 +Lalleman, Jean-Michel (1986) "Balade en sous-sol au Pays de Sourire" Speleo Club de l"Aude Lo Bramavenc No. 10 pp6-10 +Maffre, Laurent (1986) "Thai-Maros '85: Mini-Expe, mais elle fait le maximum" SpÚlÚOC No. 33/34 pp30-31,33 +Martin, Steven Andrew (2016) "Introduction to karst topography with emphasis on Thailand and the Andaman coast" lecture notes, Education Abroad Asia 85pp +MARWICK, BEN; GAGAN, MICHAEL K. 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History
The coffins have been dated to 1450BP+/-40 and 1240BP+/-90 (Grave et al. 1994) 1977 John Spies first visit 1983 Visited by Australians 1988-01-26 (L. Maffre, F. Pallier, C. Thouin, B. Tonnelier) 2007-12 (D. Brison, A. Brison) 2008-11-01 (M. Ellis, J. Dunkley, T. Bolger, Y. Sopha, S. Prommaviang, P. Sompilavong)
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 | Tham Lod Overhang - MH0269 | 20 | |
| 0.5 | Tham Hair - MH0159 | 100 | 0 |
| 0.8 | Cave MH0002 - MH0002 | ||
| 1.4 | Cave MH0024 - MH0024 | ||
| 1.6 | Coffin Cave MH0022 - MH0022 | 10 | 0 |
| 1.6 | Big Knob Cave [MH0324] | ||
| 1.8 | Coffin Cave MH0023 - MH0023 | ||
| 1.9 | Tham Nam Hu - MH0246 | 410 | 10 |
| 1.9 | Cave NAL16 - MH0055 | 3 | 3 |