The Tiger Cave Temple is located about 3 kilometres from Krabi Town, located in between Krabi Town and the airport (circled on the Bing Map below). It was built in 1976 as a monastery and meditation retreat and very well respected by the local population.
How to get there:
Of course you can take taxi or buy a tour, but for budget traveler like me, I'll take the cheapest option, which is the songthaew. From Krabi Town, take the red songthaew, the fare is 50 Baht per person. The driver will send you to the main entrance of the temple. To get back to Krabi Town, take the same songthaew, the fare is the same. If you are from Aonang, you can take the white songthaew to Krabi Town first and then take the red songthaew.
The history of The Tiger Cave Temple
This area of the tiger cave and the area of the lower cave entrance courtyard was, in previous times, the location which a tiger used to seek refuge and sleep in the morning sunlight. At times the tiger would let out a ferocious roar. This caused people, who came to the forest to collect items or hunt for animals and heard the tiger’s roar, to begin calling this area, “the Tiger Cave”.
Later, the venerable Luangpor Jumnean Seela Settho, chief monk of the tiger cave temple, led a group of buddhist monks and nuns to live there and pratice dharma, In B.E. 2518 or 1975 A.D., with the monks and nuns having come to live in the area of the tiger’s retreat, the tiger migrated in the direction of the phanom Mountain Range which extends from the tiger cave hills and crags. since that time to the present, no one has ever seen the tiger.
It is one of the more interesting temple complexes in southern Thailand, as the monks live and worship within a maze of natural caves in an overgrown jungle valley. Wat Tham Sua teaches a form of Buddhism called Vipassana (insight meditation), which is based on the teachings of the earliest Buddhist texts. In the main temple cave you will find bizarre photos of internal organs and split cadavers, which are supposed to reinforce the temporary nature of the body and help the monks to focus on more spiritual matters.
Generally, the locals come here to participate in for religion purposes/rituals, but for tourists like me, my main point of visiting is to see the big Buddha on top of the mountain and to do that I have to take 1277 steps up. The picture below is the starting point of the climb.
the starting point
Signboard: don't feed the monkeys.
They may looked cute but really, they are not! Sometimes, they will try to steal things from you, so it's best to ignore them!
Don't worry, there are toilets provided along the way up.
Lots of rubbish bin too. So, please throw your thrash in the right place.
Bear in mind that the steps are uneven.
Some stairs are very high, up to my knee!
The climb is a little strenuous and a bit tiring but definitely worth it! Here's the photo on top of it.
views of the surrounding countryside and the Andaman Sea (a bit hazy that day)
There is a water dispenser there, so you can refill your water.
I stayed about 45 minutes on the top, resting and taking photos. and then go back down..
Tips:
- Be sure to bring water.
- Please respect the temple, wear appropriate outfit.
- Do not wear high heel hahaha
- The temple has no entrance fee, so it would be very nice if you could donate few baht. There are few donation boxes there.
- Come as early as you can. I Come around 7.30 am. Or else, come late in the evening around 4 pm or 5 pm for the sunset. The sun is very hot.
- Rubbish bin and toilets are provided along the way up.
- Do not feed the monkeys.
