Paradise Cave by Arushi

Our journey into Paradise cave started in a bumpy golf cart ride, with a driver who seemed to believe the cart wasn’t able to crash as we veered around sharp corners and practically flew past other carts.

Once at the starting point, we started the ascent, which was around 550 m on a gradual, but tough incline in the stifling humidity.

Out of the 31km, tourists are allowed to visit the first 1km (can also book to go a bit further) , so off we set, down the stairs. The entrance to the cave is tiny and was discovered in 2005. The first sight of the cave’s interior was magical, the humongous ceilings and intricate details were lit up by hidden lights and the wooden boardwalk winding past the colossal stalagmites and stalactites.

We descended down the stairs, marvelling at this underground wonder. Wondering around aimlessly, we followed the boardwalk through the biggest ‘dry cave’ (although it also has a river deeper in the cave?) in Asia. The hundreds-of-millions-of-years-old cave had once been underwater, before the Ice Age and the stalagmites and stalactites are formed from the remaining water and minerals to evaporate / condense until they ‘kiss’, as Sunny joked in Galaxy cave.

We spent around an hour and a half in the cave as it was only a 1km walk to the end, where we took a family picture, and the boys and I were asked by a stranger to take a photo together which was slightly strange.

We then walked the 1km back to the entrance of the cave and said goodbye to the incredible Paradise cave. (Which is called Paradise cave as it’s cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter).Read more