Cruising to Nam Lod Cave

On a recent motorbike excursion to Nam Lod Cave in northern Thailand near Pai, Craig and I had a memorable time exploring the incredible landscape of this awe-inspiring area.

Nam Lod Cave is located in the Ban Pae sub-district of Mae Hong Son province and is about an hour’s (1.5 many switchbacks and hills) drive from Pai. The drive was an adventure in itself, taking us through winding roads and breathtaking scenery of lush forest and soaring cliffs. There was a stretch of road where we saw procession of monks walking, quite picturesque but we could not stop and take photos.

As we arrived at the park’s gate, we paid the entrance fee and was assigned a cave guide. We welcomed a fellow tourist by the name of Marcus from the UK to join us. Marcus made many of the same stops we did along the way.

Once we arrived at entrance to the cave, we were amazed by its beauty, the towering limestone formations and the turquoise water glimmering with many river fish!

Once inside the cave, we were met with a stunning display of stalactites and stalagmites that almost seemed like they were formed in a fairytale-like storybook setting. We slowly made our way through the winding passages of the cave, marveling at the magnificent rock formations. Every corner we turned revealed something new and unique - light-colored patterns on the walls, sparkling streams of crystal clear water, and hanging clusters of delicate stalactites. And there was lots of bat poop…:(

We had two bamboo rafting rides to get to different caves. We had fun feeding the fish with fish food we bought at the entrance. Some of the cat fish were quite huge!

The ride back: Craig and I failed to look at the weather report before leaving Pai hours before. So no rain gear! Once we started our ride back it started to rain cats and dogs. We decided to stop at a local coffee place to wait it out. The thunder started and it continued to rain hard. After an hour we decided to get on our bikes since we did not want to drive the switchbacks and hills in the dark while raining. 5 min into the drive we stopped at local stands to buy ponchos but they were sold out. I was shivering during our ride! After 40 min of cold rain it stopped and the air was semi warm, and our shirts dry again! We made it back to Pie in time for a stroll in the night market and some much needed dinner!

Our experiences at Nam Lod Cave and the surrounding villages will stay with us for a lifetime, and so will the lesson of checking the weather report before a long ride!Read more