ถ้ำพญานาครา

Tham Paya Nakarat - Dragon Cave Temple

Useful Information

Location:	(8.520069, 98.566312)
Open:	no restrictions. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	cave churches Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Tham Paya Nakarat, Tham Thong Lang, Thap Put District, Phang-nga 82180, Tel: +66-87-885-3641.
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History

Description

ถ้ำพญานาครา (Tham Paya Nakarat, Dragon Cave Temple) is a cave temple with numerous golden Buddhas inside a small karst cave. The temple is off the beaten track and only known to the locals. A concrete stairway with iron railings leads up to the cave. The cave is rather shallow, so no light is needed, but it is a natural karst cave and has some stalactites and stalagmites. There is a sign to remove your shoes, which is common for temples, and from her on the floor is tiled. There are two staircases leading further up. The left goes to another small grotto with stalactites and golden Buddhas, which also offers a great view. There is also a sculpture of Paya Naga, the king of the snakes, who actually was a Naga, not a dragon. However, the name of the cave is actually based on the Nagas, not dragons, it is a sort of misnomer, or at least mistranslation. The right staircase leads to an actualy cave which contains numerous Buddhist and Hindu shrines and is electrically lit. One shrine vor example has thre sculpures of the Hindu elephant god Ghanesha. Nevertheless, its probably a good idea to bring a headlamp.