Cave Lodge

29/12/2024

Found a few of John's cave photos, including Tham Lod on a Facebook post.

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11/11/2024

A freak storm while BBC Asia was filming the swifts in Tham Lod. As well as Sara's account, there are a few clips of the storm aftermath and the birds. The film crew returned to Cave Lodge that afternoon looking shaken by the experience.

By Sara Douglas, Producer / Director

08/11/2024

This is a preview of the soon to be released BBC Asia series. The film crew stayed at Cave Lodge for 27 days, filming these dramatic scenes at the cave exit chamber every morning and evening. We had been planning this shoot with the BBC for well over a year. It is a world-class spectacle, free to watch every day of the year at sunrise and sunset, just 20 minutes walk from Cave Lodge. We also run kayaking trips from the Lodge that pass through the enormous tunnel of Tham Lod, visit the upper caverns, see the birds returning at dusk and then continue to the pick up point at a dam. Call 053617203 for more info.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mEW-cKmXm0

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07/11/2024

Caving yesterday with Martin and Bobbie Foakes on a trip from Cave Lodge. Now that the wet season is over, it is a great time to get underground while the formations are still wet and active. Cave Lodge is now running full day adventure caving trips, as well as kayaking through Tham Lod and trekking tours. Don't miss out this dry season on a chance to see Thailand's best underground wonders. Call the Lodge between 8am and 8pm on 053617203 for more information.

11/09/2024

Check out this mesmerizing Slo-Mo clip from Tham Lod yesterday, at 6.30pm, after sunset, when the cave's resident 350,000 swifts return to nest underground for the night.

This impressive, world-class spectacle is a 20 minute walk from Cave Lodge (cavelodge.com), where there are maps and more info. The BBC Natural History unit filmed the incredible cave-adapted bird colony earlier this year for the upcoming Asia Mountains series.

In the early morning, the birds leave for the day to feed, another equally spectacular show in the mist. BBC thinks it is the world's largest permanent colony of birds, and the swifts share the cave with a large colony of bats, which leave after the birds return. The birds never land except to cling to the cave ceiling. If they fall in the river, huge fish gobble them instantly.

Stay at Cave Lodge (dorm beds and bungalows) to experience this amazing sight, which is free for all who make the short walk to the cave exit chamber (not the inflow entrance). It is wet season at the moment and the local guides for Tham Lod take visitors only to the cave entrance chamber and first cavern. The best and only way to see all of this enormous cave is on a kayaking trip from Cave Lodge. The kayaks pass through Tham Lot, visit side caverns, explore another undeveloped cave and run 7-12 kms of fun whitewater on the scenic Lang River. Trips through the cave take around 2.5 hours. A highly experienced river/caving guide sits in the back of every kayak for a safe and exciting experience. Call 053617203 for more info and booking trips. We are in Tham Lot village, Pang Mapha, a bit over an hour's drive from Pai.

06/04/2024

A few more pics from our village's Poy Sang Long Festival that ended a couple of days ago when the boys removed their princely clothes to don the robes of novice monks. It was a 4 day/4 night party for the Shan. Some of you may have been caving with Ong. His son, Satang, was one of the 'Louk Geow,' initiates.

03/04/2024

Some special visitors at Cave Lodge yesterday. Our village, Ban Tham Lod, is holding a Poy Sang Long festival, to celebrate young boys becoming novice monks in the village temple. As part of the celebration, the boys, dressed like princes, are paraded around the village to each house, their feet never touching the ground.