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Limestone Caves of
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There are loads of caves around Vang Vieng. You need at least a half-day trip for the Tham Sang caves which are the most popular ones.
Each of these caves are within a short walk of each other.
What do I bring for caving trips?
- Torch, sunscreen for the walk to the caves, your swimming shorts or bikini (for Tham Nam/Tham Hoi), bottled water and sun screen. You'll be needing appropriate sports sandals for walking on wet stones inside the caves.
In this route there are 4 caves you can visit:
When we visited Vang Vieng in November 2007, we definitely wanted to go caving.
We were three girls: me, an Australian girl and a traveler from Slovakia who I met along the road.
From Vang Vieng town we arranged a Songthaew which drove us outside town. Then we walked over the bamboo bridge.
Admission: 5000 Kip
Then we met two young girls (11 and 13 years old) who wanted to be our tour guides.
Stalactites grow from the ceiling of a cave, while stalagmites arise from the ground.
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What a heck, we said yes!
On the way to the caves, we followed a dirth path and passed a local village, small streams and some weird insects. Like, black/yellow milipedes, colorful dragon flies and butterflies.
The best part was the limestone scenery around us. It gives you that wow feeling! You better have your camera ready :-)
First, the girls took us to Elephant Cave (Tham Xang) where you can see several Buddha images and an elephant-shaped stalactite. It was alright, but not the highlight of the trip!
Then another cave, Tham Nam.
The interesting part about Tham Nam cave is the underground waterway. You'll get a tube so you can pull yourself along a rope inside the cave. But you can only tube during the wet season.
During the dry season, cross the river on foot.
Try not to touch the stalagmites or stalactites. Skin sweat can ruin the rock formations. But then again, you have to touch the rocks to avoid slipping! Hmm...tough one!
Then we moved on to the 3rd cave, Tham Hoi.
Before you enter the cave, you'll be given headlamps so you can light up the dark.
We were told that there was an underground lake and a mini waterfall about 3 km inside the cave, so we started the journey.
It was fascinating to see the multi-shaped stalagmites and stalactites. The atmosphere was mysterious and kind of scary to walk in the "dark." You can hear the water dripping from the stalactites, creating mud ponds.
It sounds like you're in an old basement.
We had to crawl over and under huge stones, and it was a nice exercise. But some will likely find this cave as claustrophobic.. You'll fight through narrow paths, and the height of the cave corridors sometimes drop to one meter.
Be careful. It's slippery and humid inside the caves. You don't want to twist your ankle or something. And watch out for those mud ponds. I stepped into several ones!
Then the girls took us to the 4th cave: Tham Loup (about 500 meters long).
We climbed down a wooden ladder and saw more amazing stalagmites and stalactites. These ones were unique and beautiful in their off-white/brownish glittery color.
Just look at this...
After the trip, we gave the girls 10 000 Kip. We were surprised of how the girls handled the caves so easily. While we used a lot of time to get across the muddy paths, they jumped from rock to rock, from stone to stone.
It was obvious that the girls knew what and where they were going.
So, if you`re skeptic of having 11-year-olds as guides, don't be...
Where is Tham Sang limestone caves: 13 km north of Vang Vieng, along Route 13. Turn left, and then a pretty rough road will take you the river.
At the river you'll see the bamboo bridge.
You're done with Limestone Caves of Vang Vieng, so where do you want to go next?
Click here to read about Pakse
and the Bolaven Plateau.
Stop by charming
Luang Prabang.
Visiting the capital of Laos -- Vientiane?
Heard about Don Det and the 4000 islands?
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