Pu Sam Cap Grottoes

Pu Sam Cap Caves

Useful Information

Location:	Pu Sam Cap village, Sin Ho District, province of Lai Chau. From Lao Cai town by car to Pu Sam Cap Mountain (1,700 m asl). Provincial road 129 between Lai Chau city and Sin Ho district, 5 km from the city center. (22.385380, 103.410366)
Open:
Fee:
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Pu Sam Cap Grottoes, Dien Bien import-export company, Lai Chau.
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

JUL-2006

opened as a show cave.

Description

The Dong Pu Sam Cap (Three Big Mountains Caves), named after the nearby village or the homonymous mountain, are noted for fine speleothems. This very young show cave has been prepared with paths and electric light, but the development is still very simple. Unfortunately this allows people to reach the formations and destroy them. There is already some damage, which is explained by children braking speleothems because of ignorance. The cave is very popular, during the first six months it was visited by 10,000 visitors, and since then the visitor numbers grow continually.

There are actually three caves, the lowest is named Thien Mon (Heaven Gate Cave), higher up are Thien Duong (Paradise Cave) and Thuy Tinh. The visit of all three caves requires a whole day, visitors with less time are advised to visit only the lowest, Thien Mon. In the small karst area 10 caves are known at the moment, the three show caves are the three biggest caves.

The cave is located high up on the 1,700 m asl high Pu Sam Cap Mountain. It is reached from the parking lot on a short but strenuous walk uphill, which is rewarded by the extraordinary views of the valley and Nam Ron River, and the beautiful cave.