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Tham Yai Nam Nao - Yai Nam Nao Cave


Useful Information

Location: Nam Nao National Park. Clearly signposted from the H2216 in Ban Non Chat. (47Q 0767316 1874832)
Open:
Fee: Guided THB 20, Unguided THB 10.
[2006]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light:
Dimension: L=9,817 m, VR=76 m, A=693 m asl.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Tham Yai Nam Nao, Nam Nao National Park, Amphur Nam Nao, Phetchabun, Thailand 67260, Tel: +66-5681-0724 (VoIP), Tel: +66-8-1962-6236, Fax: +66-8-1888-4107. E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History


Description

Tham Yai Nam Nao is the longest cave in the Nam Nao National Park. It is also the third longest known cave in Thailand [2006]. The popular tourist attraction is well developed, at busy holiday times food and beer is sold at the cave entrance, but at other times there are just three or four rangers.

From the car park a trail leads across the cave river, which flows out of the entrance portal, to a steel staircase up to the entrance. It is possible to take both guided and unguided tours, but actually both are more or less unguided, at least for foreign tourists, so the difference is for guided tours the light is on. Inside a metal ladder leads to a second entrance. It is possible to leave the cave here and climb up to the Bat Entrance, where bats enter and leave the cave. Then the cave follows a dry main passage to the bat chamber where the bat entrance can be seen from inside. Close to this entrance is a large bat colony visible.

Following the main passage along a breakdown area a mud floored chamber follows. At the end is a solidly constructed 6 m metal ladder. It descends to a series of smaller, muddy passages.

But actually the main passage is somewhere else: white paint arrows mark a small crawl on the right. After some smaller passages and a second crawl large passage which finally ends at a mud slope. Actually this is the end of the show cave part, the whole cave system is about ten kilometers long.