ถ้ำเขาบิน

Khao Bin Cave - Tham Kwa Bin - Tham Kao-bin

Useful Information

Location:	Hin Kong, Mueang Ratchaburi, Ratchaburi 70000. (13.5923603, 99.6668312)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 8-16, Sat, Sun 98-17. [2024]
Fee:	Adults THB 20. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=250 m, VR=10 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, L=500 m.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Martin Ellis (2012): The Caves of Ratchaburi, Thailand, Takobi Ltd, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, UK. pdf
Address:	Tham Bin Cave, Hin Kong, Mueang Ratchaburi, Ratchaburi 70000, Tel: +66-3239-1397.
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.

History

Description

ถ้ำเขาบิน (Tham Khao Bin, Flying Swallow Cave) seems to be the only true show cave of the province, but it is generally not listed on tourist site lists of the province. The reason is unclear, but obviously the responsible tourist managers do not know its value. The Tourist Authority of Thailand has invested a lot of money in the development as a show cave. The plans were created by specialists for cave development from Australia. Car park, picnic areas, stalls and an office were erected and trails and electric light installed. The cave is a single passage, or better a huge chamber, with a loop trail.

The cave has quite spectacular speleothems and is worth a visit. Unfortunately, there are numerous drawbacks, the first of all the high amount of carbon dioxide. This is not really dangerous, but the smell is strange and people may get dizzy, and the danger for children is even higher. The Tourist Authority planned to install a ventilation system for this reason, but this never happened. Its unclear if this is good or bad, as a massive change of the cave climate would also massively influence cave life. The cave is known as a habitat for numerous rare and even some endemic species.

Another side effect are the decorations like shawls on stalagmites, donations, ex-voto, colourful rope sculptures, and even a wishing well with coins. Lots of rubbish, which is brought into the cave where it moulds or corrodes. Much of the dirt is a result of centuries of visits by locals, even before it became a show cave. The same is the huge number of missing stalactites, which were broken off by visitors as souvenirs. This fact is lamented by many authors for a long time, so it is probably not a result of the development as a show cave. In general, show caves avoid further destruction by mandatory guided tours, but this is unfortunately not common in Thailand. There are no railings, and it is easy to overstep the unimpressive rows of rocks which delimit the tourist route quite discreetly. They give the impression of a friendly hint, not of an access ban.

The cave was developed and equipped with electric light probably in the 1980s or early 1990s. Unfortunately, as common in Thai caves, they never tell any hard facts. They actually boast that this was the first cave with electric light in Thailand, but thats hard to verify as neither this cave nor all the others actually tell when the electric light was installed.

The cave is open daily and rather easy to visit. The only problem is the high temperature and humidity inside, which make any move quite sweaty. A bottle of water is probably a good idea, just dont leave the empty bottle inside. Although being mostly horizontal it has staircases and is thus not wheelchair accessible. There is no higher price for foreigners, probably a result of the fact that it is not listed on tourist maps. Quite strange is the fact that the cave has a wikipedia page but only in German, seems to be made by a fan.