Tham Sai Thong - CR0001
20.372150,99.871309
Location
1km south of Tham Luang, at the foot of Doi Nang Non. Turn off the main road 7.5km south of Mae Sai and continue straight west through Ban Jong to Khun Nam Nang Non RFD station. The cave entrance is on the far side of the pond, 5 minutes walk from the car park and food stalls.
Description
The cave entrance is 10m up the hillside and obscured by large boulders. A short descent of 5-6m leads to a level passage 4-10m wide and 3-15m high with a floor of sand. 66m from the bottom of the entrance slope, on the western side of the passage, a short, low crawl leads into a side passage that has been explored for an estimated 200m.The sandy sections make for easy walking, but are frequently interrupted by lengthy scrambles over huge unstable rockfalls. After 900m the passage is blocked by a boulder choke that draughts strongly in the middle section. Tham Sai Thong seems to be the former route of the stream that resurges at the spring, but doesn't appear to connect at present. The spring is probably the resurgence for Tham Luang.
Topographie
DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1988) - UIS Grade 4 Unsworth & Collett (2015) UISv2 6-3-F
Documents
[Topo] Tham Sai Thong 28/04/2019Bibliography 05/08/2019
- +Anon. (2016c) "Search goes on for missing tourist in Mae Sai cave" Bangkok Post 21 August 2016 +Anon. (2016d) "Flooding halts search for tourist missing in Mae Sai cave" Bangkok Post 23 August 2016 +Chaimol, Chinnapat (2016) "Tourist vanishes after entering cave in Chiang Rai" Bangkok Post 18 August 2016 +Charuvastra, Teeranai (2016a) "Chiang Rai rangers searching for missing Asian tourist" Khao Sod English 20 August 2016 +Charuvastra, Teeranai (2016b) "Search for missing 'Asian tourist' in Chiang Rai yields no clues" Khaosod English 22 August 2016 +Charuvastra, Teeranai (2016c) "Search for missing man in Chiang Rai caves comes up empty" Chiang Rai Times 23 August 2016 +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 (2018c) "SMCC Thailand Expedition 2018 û Summary" report to the Ghar Pharau Foundation, 5pp +Maffre, Laurent (1988a) "Expedition Thai 88" SpÚlÚOC No. 43 p10 +MAFFRE, LAURENT (1988b) "Expedition Thai 88" Spelunca No. 30 pp9-10 +SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 +ZEITOUN, VAL+RY; FORESTIER, HUBERT; NAKBUNLANG, SUPAPORN (2008) "PrÚhistoires au sud du Triangle d'Or" IRD Editions, Paris ISBN 97-2-7099-1642-4 252pp
History
1988-01-22(L. Maffre, F. Pallier, C. Thouin, B. Tonnelier 1988-01-22 L. Maffre, F. Pallier, C. Thouin, B. Tonnelier surveyed 2014-03-06 M. Ellis, R. Harper, V. Unsworth 200m side passage was explored 2015-03-03 V. Unsworth, P. Collett centre-line survey of the main cave 2015-06-13 V. Unsworth, P. Collett surveyed the side passage found in 2014. 2016-08-12 A tourist, thought to be Chinese or Japanese and aged 50-60, entered the cave 'to meditate for a few days'. Rescue was initiated on 18 August. The search was halted on 23 August due to flooding. 2016-10-23 V. Unsworth trip to end of cave. No sign of missing tourist. 2017-06-12 V. Unsworth & P. Collett. Surveyed bat aven. 2019-03-11 M. Ellis, V. Unsworth, J. Morris, K. Khunngarmkuamdee, C. Siripornpibul, P. Pananont, M. Worakul
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Sai Thong Resurgence - CR0002 | ||
| 0.1 | Sai Thong Old Resurgence [CR0091] | ||
| 0.7 | Tham Pado - CR0009 | 100 | 15 |
| 0.9 | Tham Chang Thao [CR0084] | 16 | 4 |
| 0.9 | Tham Liang Pha - CR0008 | 80 | 22 |
| 0.9 | Tham Phayanak - CR0007 | 22 | 6 |
| 1.0 | Tham Phra - CR0006 | 49 | 7 |
| 1.1 | Tham Luang - CR0003 | 10316 | 85 |
| 2.6 | Cave CR0097 |