Tham Borichinda [Tham Chom Thong] [CM0052]
18.498058,98.680548
Location
The cave is just inside the Doi Inthanon National Park, about 70 km south-west of Chiang Mai. Less than 1km after the entrance gate a 4WD track on the right is driveable in the dry season for the first couple of kilometres up to a rocky stream. From here it is about half an hour walk through degraded forest to the cave entrance on the other side of the hill. The cave itself remains hidden behind a corner of the cliff until you are nearly on top of it.
Description
A steep slope leads down to the imposing entrance chamber, a vast hall decorated with gigantic flowstone and stalagmites. The numerous cave windows, multi-layered floor and enormous re-eroded speleothems indicate that this is a very old cave. At the back of the entrance chamber a massive section of roof has collapsed, beyond which there is another smaller chamber and a very high vertical rift. The natural unevenness of the floor has been further accentuated by treasure seekers looking for hidden gold believed to have been left by the Japanese during the Second World War. The gold remains elusive, but weapons dating from that period have been found. In 1933 Sarasin reported that the cave was a locally venerated shrine, but there is no trace of this today.
Fauna
Borichinda cavernicola Rattanarithikul et Harbach, 2007 (Arthropoda, Insecta, Diptera, Culicidae) û type locality (Harbach et al. 2007) Eonycteris spelaea (Dobson, 1871) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Pteropodidae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986) Taphozous melanopogon Temminck, 1841 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Emballonuridae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986) Hipposideros larvatus (Horsfield, 1823) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Yenbutra and Felton 1986) The type series of Borichinda cavernicola (174 specimens) was collected on 13 October 2004 by Rattanarithikul et al. Paratypes were collected on 29 September 2005 by Harbach et al. They were collected in a small gour pool fed by a single seepage point 150 m into the cave. This is the only pool of water in the cave and this pool was dry in February 2005.
Documents
Bibliography 26/06/2019- CLARAC, A.; PAGAU-CLARAC, H. (1985) "Thailande: Guide Touristique" DK Book House, Bangkok ISBN 974-2104-174 508pp DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 HARBACH, RALPH E.; RATTANARITHIKUL, RAMPA; HOWARD, THERESA M.; LINTON, YVONNE-MARIE; KITCHING, IAN J. (2007) ôSystematics of a New Genus and cavernicolous Species of the Mosquito Tribe Aedini (Diptera: Culicidae) from Thailandö Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington Vol. 109 Issue 2 pp469-488 Kusch, Heinrich (1975) "H÷hlen in Laos, Nord- und Westthailand - H÷hlengebiete S³dostasiens III" Die Hohle Vol. 26 No. 4 pp113-123 Kusch, Heinrich (1982a) "Ergebnisse spelaologischer forschungen in Thailand (Stand 1978)" Die Hohle Vol. 33 No. 2 pp59-69 MUNIER, CHRISTOPHE (1998) "Sacred Rocks and Buddhist Caves in Thailand" White Lotus Co. Ltd, Bangkok ISBN 974-8434-19-2 266pp NATIONAL PARK OFFICE (2006) "National Parks in Thailand" National park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok 280pp SARASIN, FRITZ (1933a) "Prehistorical Researches in Siam" Journal of the Siam Society Vol. 26 No. 2 pp171-202 reprinted (1959) Selected Articles from The Siam Society Journal Volume 3: Early History and Ayudhya Period pp101-132 SARASIN, FRITZ (1933) "Recherches Prehistoriques au Siam" L'Anthropologie Vol. 43 pp1-40 SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 STEPHENS, HAROLD (2000) "Return to Adventure Southast Asia: With Amazing Thailand as the Hub" Wolfenden, Miranda, California ISBN 09642521-6-3 ppxiv + 227 TOURNIER, THIERRY (2009) ôThai 2008/09ö www.blog4ever.com/blogfichiers/156233/fics/1562330… 26pp TOURNIER, THIERRY (2011) ôCR Thailande 2010/2011" privately published report. 26pp 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 You-di, Chin (1958) "The Stone Age in Thailand" Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India Vol. 3 pp201-210
History
The cave name comes from Mr Thanom Borichinda who was the 11th chief of Chom Thong district (1927-1929).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4 | Tham Phu Ruesi [CM0252] | 40 | 6 |
| 0.4 | Cave CM0173 - CM0173 | ||
| 11.0 | Tham Pong Mae Vak [CM0268] | ||
| 11.2 | Tham Phi - LP0031 | ||
| 14.0 | Cave CM0265 | ||
| 15.2 | Ban Tham - CM0192 | ||
| 18.0 | Tham Sob Win [CM0292] | 50 | 0 |
| 18.5 | Tham Doi Ton - CM0151 | ||
| 18.6 | Tham Sai [Sand Cave] [CM0302] |