Tham Pha Pu - LO0011

นาอาน (TH)
17.578782,101.710476
Length 240m Depth 5m
Grottocenter / carte

Location

From Loei take the H201 north for about 7 km and then turn west onto the H2115 towards Tha Li. Opposite the school in Ban Nam Phu there is a turning to the north. The road goes through an arch into the wat grounds. After 2 km the main wat buildings are reached and the built up cave entrance is at the base of the cliff. Martin Ellis - 22/02/2020

Description

Topographie

Martin Ellis - 22/02/2020

DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) - BCRA Grade 2a ELLIS (2013a) - UISv2 6-3-F

Martin Ellis - 22/02/2020

At the foot of the cliff nearest the car park the tiled steps lead down into the heavily developed cave. Straight ahead is the main shrine and on the right is the stalagmite with the holy water dripping into a hollow on the top of it. This holy water was used in the coronation of King Rama X in May 2019. To the left of the entrance are some low passages with a couple more shrines. The wat grounds and forest are home to Phayre's Leaf Monkey. CHAROENWONGSA, PHISIT (1989) - site 88

Fauna

Martin Ellis - 22/02/2020

Scolopendra dehaani Brandt, 1840 (Arthropoda, Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) (Siriwut et al. 2016) Bryocyclops muscicola (Menzel, 1926) (Arthropoda, Crustacea, Maxilliopoda, Cyclopida, Cyclopidae) (Watiroyram 2018a) Taphozous melanopogon Temminck, 1841 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Emballonuridae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Megaderma spasma (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Megadermatidae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Rhinolophus coelophyllus Peters, 1867 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Rhinolophus malayanus Bonhote, 1903 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Hipposideros armiger (Hodgson, 1835) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Hipposideros larvatus (Horsfield, 1823) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Hipposideros lylei Thomas, 1913 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Hipposideros pomona Andersen, 1918 (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) (Robinson and Smith 1997) Chaerephon plicatus (Buchannan, 1800) (Chordata, Mammalia, Chiroptera, Molossidae) (Robinson and Smith 1997)

Documents

[Topo] Tham Pha Pu 07/05/2019
Bibliography 22/02/2020

History

Dark red prehistoric paintings are found on the cliff near the entrance to the cave. Prehistoric pottery has also been found in one of the caves in the grounds of the wat. The cave is famous as the wat was established by the well known meditation monk Phra Ajaan Khamdee Pabhaso (1902-1984). Ajaan Khamdee was a pupil of Ajaan Singh Khantiyagamo, a senior disciple of Ajaan Mun. After several years of wandering in various parts of northeastern Thailand he came to Tham Pha Pu in 1955. Finding it an ideal place to practice, he stayed there for most of the remainder of his life, moving down to the foot of the hill below the cave when he became too old to negotiate the climb. 1989-01-13 The first recorded visit to the cave by speleologists by the John Dunkley who made a sketch survey. 2005-06-27 M. Ellis, Y. Sopha 2006-11-18 M. Ellis, Y. Sopha 2010-02-11 M. Ellis, P. Collett, E. Porter, M. Clayton - surveyed cave 014-08-18 S. Watiroyram - biological collecting Martin Ellis - 22/02/2020

Caves nearby

Distance (km)NameLength (m)Depth (m)
0.0Tham Din Khao - LO0013230
0.1Cave LO0014 - LO0014
0.2Cave LO0015 - LO0015
0.2Tham Phra - LO00185020
6.6Tham Klaep - LO0060605
10.3Tham Phra - LO0048120
11.4Tham Phu Bo Bit [LO0133]150
11.4Bang Bot (Tham) [LO0179]20
15.7Tham Sua Lueang - LO0095