ถ้ำเลเขากอบ

Tham Khao Kop - Khao Kop Cave - Khao Kob Cave - Le Khaokob Cave


Useful Information

Location: Khao Kop, Huai Yot District, Trang 92130.
Amphoe Huai Yot, Unsung Trang. 7 km from the district office on Phetkasem Road, then 700 m on a road on the left.
(7.793637, 99.572278)
Open: Only dry season daily 8-17.
[2023]
Fee: Adults THB 100.
Groups: boat for 3 Adults THB 300.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System LightColoured Light
Dimension: L=800 m.
Guided tours: D=60 min, L=800 m.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Tham Khao Kop, Moo 1 (Mu 1), Tambon Khao Kop, Huai Yot District, Trang 92130, Tel: +66-7527-1426.
Khao Kop Sub District Administration Organisation, 59/1 Moo 1, Khao Kob Subdistrict, Huai Yot District, Trang Province 92130, Tel: +66-7550-0088, Tel: +66-7550-0117. 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.

History


Description

Tham Khao Kop or ถ้ำเลเขากอบ (Tham Le Khao Kob) is toured completely by boat, rowing boats shuttle passengers through narrow passages and open caverns. Typical is a high canyon-like profile of the passages, except for entrance and exit. The entrance is low, probably half a meter above the river, but the captain and his assistant are cool and keep sitting in the boat, while the tourists are asked to lie in the boat on their back. This entrance section takes about 10 minutes.

But there are also dry sections of the cave which were developed with trails and electric light. The boat ride through the cave alternates with walking. Some sections are quite low and require stooping. Also, several visitors despised the light, which seems to consist of fluorescence lamps, and it is, of course, coloured. But it is extraordinary that there is any light at all in a Thai show cave, which is not normally the case.

But the highlight of the tour is called going under the dragon’s belly, because the ceiling looks actually a little like the belly of a dragon. The special thing of this last 350 m of the river cave is a very low ceiling, where passengers are again laying on the bottom of the boat. But this time the ceiling is only 10 cm above the rim of the boat, some visitors tell parts of the ceiling or stalactites touching their nose. The captain and his assistant move the boat by pushing on the roof of the cave while lying on their backs themselves. This passage takes about 20 minutes. And it is the reason why the cave is only visited with low water levels, there are no fixed open hours because it depends actually on the weather. And if rain is aproaching the tour may be cut short to avoid being stuck inside the cave.

A canal from the Banthat Mountain Range splits up into three at Khao Kop. Two canals flow around the mountain, one through the mountain underground. This third branch is Tham Kao Kop, with its cave river.