Location: |
Kaew Komol Cave Park, Mae La Noi District, Mae Hong Son Province.
Highway 108 to Mae La Noi, turn east to Ban Toong Sarapee for 5 km. (18.396655, 97.970629) |
Open: |
All year daily 8:30-16:30. [2022] |
Fee: |
Foreigners THB 80, Thais THB 40. [2022] |
Classification: | Karst Cave Aragonite Cave Coral Dogtooth Spar |
Light: | Incandescent |
Dimension: | A=500 m asl. |
Guided tours: | L=120 m, VR=30 m, D=20 min, Max=20. |
Photography: | allowed |
Accessibility: | no |
Bibliography: | |
Address: | Kaeo Komon Forest Park, Mae La Noi Sub-district, Amphur Mae La Noi, Mae Hong Son, Thailand 58120, Tel: +66-5361-2078, Fax: +66-5361 2594. E-mail: |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
10-NOV-1993 | cave discovered by a mining engineer. |
1994 | roof support built and cave developed as a show cave by the Department of Mineral Resources. |
1995 | Tham Kaew Komol Park created under the National Park Department. |
2001 | opened to the public by Her Majesty the Queen Sirikit. |
Tham Kaew Komol (Calzite Crystal Cave) is becoming increasingly popular. The cave is a recent discovery and thus shows beautiful and unspoilt speleothems of various forms. As officials said, the "internal condition of the cave is filled with calcites, particularly on its wall, floor and ceiling". We are astonished, where else would they be, floating in the air?
Kaew Komol Park is a forest park with a hot spring (now covered by the new Mae Hu reservoir) and fluorite mines. The cave was discovered inside a now abandoned fluorite mine. Obviously the geology is rather complicated and quite interesting for a karst area. A result are really extraordinary speleothems, like popcorn calcite, aragonite and other strange things. The calcite crystals have a wide range of forms, resembling coral reefs, cabbages, snow flakes, and lanterns. This cave is said to be the most beautiful cave of Thailand.
The cave is very well developed, with concrete trails, railings, iron staircases, and electric light. This is a result of its discovery during mining. The Department of Mineral Resources took responsibility for the cave, built metal pillars to support the roof of the cave and developed it as a show cave. At this time it was called Crystal Calcite Mae La Noi Cave. But despite its development it was not opened to the public, its management was transferred to the National Park Department which created Tham Kaew Komol Park. It took six more years until it was finally opened to the public by Her Majesty the Queen Sirikit.
The cave is not suitable for high amounts of visitors, as there is only one entrance which is also the exit, and the space inside the cave is also very limited. Too many visitors could harm the crystals. The result is a restrictions to groups of not more than 20 visitors, one group every 20 minutes. It is definitely a very good idea to avoid weekends and holidays. The ticket office is located at the foot of the hill, the ticket includes a shuttle service to the cave entrance by songthiew (pickup-truck).