Tham Pu Loop - KK0003
16.829641,101.985541
Location
The cave opens behind the big Buddha statue, a short distance above the level of the col and 30m from the H201 road.
Description
Just inside the entrance some steps lead down to the right. Passing through a low section leads to a second chamber which can be ascended to rejoin the concrete path. This path doubles back on itself and crosses a concrete ledge to a short ascent through stal to a point where a ladder drops down into a chamber. The top of this chamber links with the path, near to the entrance. This final chamber is about 10 m in diameter and drops down to a pool of water. This water was occasionally used by the monks. Near the entrance there is a Buddha carved into the wall and there are several other small shrines. This may be the same cave as Tham Pu (KK0050).
Topographie
SMCC February 2012 - Grade UISv2 6-3-BF Ellis, Martin (2015a)
Fauna
Scolopendra dehaani Brandt, 1840 (Arthropoda, Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) (Siriwut et al. 2016) Orthriophis taeniurus (Cope 1861) (Chordata, Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae) (Deharveng and et al. 1988)
Documents
Bibliography 29/09/2019- +DEHARVENG, LOUIS (1987) "Cave Collembola of South-East Asia" Korean Journal of Systematic Zoology Vol. 3 No. 2 pp165-174 +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 +Ellis, Martin (2015a) "Some caves in Thailand Part 4" Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 13 No. 3 pp91-118 +KONGIM, BANGON; SUTCHARIT, CHIRASAK; NAGGS, FRED; PANHA, SOMSAK (2013) "Taxonomic revision of the Elephant Pupinid snail genus Pollicaria Gould, 1856 (Prosobranchia, Pupinidae)ö ZooKeys No. 287 pp19-40 SCHULZ, KLAUS-DIETER (2010) "Ubersicht der Variationen des Orthriophis taeniurus Unterarten-Komplexes mt Anmerkungen zum Status von Coluber taeniurus pallidus Rendahl, 1937 und der Beschreibung einer neuen Unterart (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)" Sauria Vol. 32 No. 2 pp3-26 Siriwut, Warut; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Tongkerd, Piyoros; Panha, Somsak (2016) "A taxonomic review of the centipede genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) in mainland Southeast Asia, with description of a new species from Laos" ZooKeys Issue 590 pp1-124 VOGT, NILS B. (2013) "Temple Caves & Grottoes in Thailand: A Picture-Guide Book" Booksmango, Bangkok ISBN 978-616-222-160-6 214pp
History
An old legend is that the cave has the ghost of a big hunter and Thais blow their car horns when passing the col as protection against bad spirits. The famous meditation monk Ajarn Lee visited this cave in 1956. In 1987 the abbot and the snakes he handled were a local curiosity, but 2008 there was no indication that monks still used the cave and no cave racer snakes have been seen. 2008-03-21 M.Ellis, P. Collett 2009-04-25 M. Ellis, T. Bolger 2012-02-26 M. Ellis, P. Collett, S. Hall 2019-05-14 T. Bolger, M. Ellis
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Tham Nen Boi - KK0004 | 247 | 18 |
| 0.7 | Tham Pu - KK0050 | ||
| 0.9 | Tham Pha Phuang 2 - KK0002 | 230 | 10 |
| 2.6 | Tham Chatuburaphan Khuha - LO0114 | ||
| 3.0 | Tham Pha Phuang 1 - KK0001 | 145 | 30 |
| 3.5 | Tham Pha Ya Nakharat - KK0007 | 668 | 82 |
| 3.8 | Tham Lai Taeng - KK0033 | 50 | 0 |
| 4.9 | Tham Niam - KK0025 | ||
| 6.4 | Tham Khiri Banphot - KK0067 | 10 | 0 |