Laos, a country with an abundance of caves, is home to the Tham Nong
Thakhek town is also home to one of Laos’ sacred places known as the That Sikhot that was built in the 15th century. One can visit the 29m golden stupa there. An 8km canoe ride that flows through the cave would be the one to take to go to Buddha Cave and behold the limestone structures.
Furthermore, the naturally-formed limestone within the cave is an essential beauty in itself. The cave was accidentally discovered by a local who was hunting bats in the area.
Interestingly, the cave has two levels, whereby the Buddha statues are located on the upper dry level of the cave while the lower level is water filled and can only be accessed on canoes.
These are some decent places to stay when you are travelling to Thakhek town; the very basic Thakhek Travel Lodge, the classic Khammouane Inter Guesthouse and Inthira Hotel, which is part of a bigger hotel chain.
There is a variety of international and Lao cuisine served at Inthira Hotel and Khammouane Inter Guesthouse. However, lighter meals, snacks and bottled drinks are available at the first hut before the cave.
How To Get There
Visitors can travel to Thakhek easily by crossing the Mekong by boat. There are also colourful VIP buses that leave from Vientiane to Thakhek every 1-2 hours in the morning and the journey takes around 7 hours. Visitors can also hire a car or van if they cared for a more relaxing journey.
This article first appeared in GOASIAPLUS Asean Guide in 2017. ASEAN Guide is a collaboration with AirAsia to promote places for travellers in Southeast Asia countries from how to go, where to stay, what to do and eat.
