Big Blue Tech: Cave Diving
One of the best places in Asia to be trained as a cave diver is Khao Sok National Park, mainland Thailand. This area is covered with Limestone and gives the diver a perfect opportunity to explore amazing freshwater cave systems in a very unique environment. This extremely remote location is protected and has remained untouched and unspoiled by tourism thus providing a real place to unwind and explore virgin dive sites not visited by the masses.
For those not cave certified there is the option of combining this with a course or introduction.
Sra Keow Cave
This unique system is surrounded by absolutely breathtaking scenery. Amongst the limestone cliffs you will find two pools used by elephants to cool off and drink from, they are known locally as Sra Keow Caves. They are considered an extreme dive due to their depth. The belief is that this cave system could be one of the deepest cave dives in the world, therefore is only accessible by very experienced cave divers.
Dive Level: Trimix Cave Diver, CCR Cave Diver
Water: Fresh
Location: Mainland
Snake Cave
The entrance to this cave is at a depth of 15m, the ceiling is at 10m, the round opening is 5m at the widest point.
Like most of the Phi Phi caves the first part the cave is a host to a covering of sea clams that have attached themselves to the walls as well as schools of fish that shelter away from the reef. Occasionally large groupers hang out among the smaller reef fish.
Further back on the right side, at a distance of 50m from the entrance is another spherical room leading off from the main passage. The floor of this room like the rest of the cave has deep deposits of silt, little sea life adorns the walls and the rock walls are clearly visible.
Continuing along the main passage 60-70m from the entrance the salt water abruptly changes to fresh water and the usual hydrogen sulphide clouds mark the halo cline. The fresh water visibility is usually far greater than the salt water. Sea life cannot survive in the fresh water so this far back the walls are clear from clams and other sea life.
At a distance of 100m from the entrance the cave ends in a depth of 6m, from here it is possible to surface into a fresh air chamber and even to walk in the dry cave, care should be taken though as the wet mud is very slippery and dotted with narrow sumps several meters deep.
Dive Level: Cave Diver
Location: West Coast
Bell chamber cave
Named for the spherical chamber that marks the end of this spectacular cave.
The opening to this cave is an inverted V shape, the 4m wide floor lies at 14m the narrow top of the inverted “V” is at a depth of 10m.
Like the Snake cave the floor gradually becomes shallower towards the back of the cave.
70m from the entrance the cave turns back on itself in a “dog leg” bend leading to a restriction 120cm high and 160cm wide but only 2m long. On the other side of the restriction is the bell chamber with round walls and a dome ceiling. Directly across from the restriction is a small tunnel too small to penetrate, from here a pulsing stream of fresh water is responsible for the halo clines just before the restriction in the main passage.
Care should be exercised in the bell chamber as the floor has deep silt deposits that are easily disturbed.
Exiting the restriction back to the main passage the light refracted by the halo cline creates the illusion of an exit in the ceiling, however, swimming up to the ceiling reveals a small gas pocket with a ceiling lined with small stalactites.
Dive Level: Cave Diver
Water: Salt to Fresh
Location: West Coast
Wang long cavern
Further along the Limestone cliffs from the Snake cave, a 10min boat ride will bring you to the Wang long gorge, this stunning canyon of 100m high limestone cliffs winds its way to a small sandy beach. Beside the gorge is a small cove where one of the entrances to the Wang long cavern is located.
This large cavern has several entrances on different sides of the cliff. To enter the cavern from the cove there is a small rocky lip at depth of 2m that drops down on the inside to 7m, the floor gradually drops to another larger exit on the far side at a depth of 14m.
Wang long cavern has small tunnels to be explored and beautiful gas filled domes on the ceiling with stalactites, the floor is a host to lobsters, crabs and cowries while schools of fish swarm around the interior.
Dive Level: Cave Diver
Water: Salt
Location: West Coast
Corridor cave
This cave traverses from a low lying cavern with a very intricate ceiling and several chimneys, through an opening in the roof along a narrow 2m wide and 4m high winding corridor to an exit on the reef wall.
Although the total penetration is only 42m the interesting complexity of this cave makes it a very pleasurable dive. The exit on to the reef is spectacular as visibility is reduced almost to zero by the school of glass fish that shelter in the cave entrance.
Dive Level: Cave Diver
Water: Salt
Location: West Coast
Maya Cave
The cave is located on the South corner of the bay at a depth of 12m. This bay was made world famous during the making o the film The Beach and is one of the most spectacular bays in the world.
The large entrance, 20m across and 5m high leads to a huge cavern that is split in the middle by a pillar several meters across. The left side has a low ceiling 2-3m from the floor and has many interesting rock formations and stalactites, passing these the floor is littered with pieces of broken stalactites.
The right side past the split is more spacious with several meters from floor to ceiling but also with impressive stalactites. 100m from the entrance the two sides meet again at the back wall between huge stalactites. This cave as an abundant lobster population but they should not be disturbed by divers.
Dive Level: Cave Diver
Water: Salt
Location: West Coast
Temple Cave
This cave is located in Khao Sok National Park with several entrances ranging from a cavern at the surface to 30m.
This large cave is cathedral shaped with several karst windows and different levels to explore. With limestone rock formations with pristine decorations in a very remote area.
The cave is home to many large cat fish and a few restrictions to entice the cave diver. The cave is surrounded by a man made lake which was a result of a hydro electric dam making the sunken forest around the cave a real unique diving experience.
Dive Level: Cavern Diver or Cave Diver
Water: Fresh
Location: Mainland Thailand
Peters Cave
This cave is located in Khao Sok National Park with a single entrance at 5m
This corridor cave is hidden just below the surface in a large natural lake. It features a large surface area of 50 square meters without access to the surface but where formations are still in active growth.
The cave is home to many large cat fish with several restrictions to entice the cave diver. The cave is surrounded by a man made lake which was a result of a hydro electric dam making the sunken forest around the cave a real unique diving experience.
Dive Level: Cavern Diver or Cave Diver
Water: Fresh
Location: Mainland Thailand
