New Cave Discovered Near Tha Kaek, Lao PDR

Tham Pa Pha cave near the Village of Ban Na Kan Sang in Tha Kaek district, Laos recently came into the news following the discovery of 229 bronze Buddha statues (age unknown - 300 yrs?) in a previously unexplored cave. A local villager Mr. Boun Nong during the month of April 2004 entered the small cave opening (1.5 metre), which lies 15m from ground level on a 300-metre cliff face near the Village of Ban Na Kan Sang. He had noticed bats entering the cave and decided to climb a vine to investigate the cave with the intention of collecting bats (a local delicacy).

Bamboo Ladder to Newly Discovered Cave

Passing through the small cave entrance he looked down into the cavern below using his headlamp and to his amazement saw a large Buddha statue. He then proceeded down into the cave and realized the there were over 200 Buddha statues, ranging in size from 15 cm to approximately 1 metre tall: all the Buddhas were made of cast bronze.

In my interview with Boun Nong he stated that for 1 week he did not tell anyone in the village, as he did not believe what he had seen; he thought it might just have been his imagination! One week later he returned with a group of 9 villagers who still found it hard to believe what they had seen. In early May they informed local district officials and since then the news has spread widely in Tha Kaek, to Vientiane the capital and beyond.

More than 200 people per day have been visiting the cave and considerably more on weekends. Currently the villagers are guarding the cave and artifacts and supervise the visiting local people, but due to the large numbers they are somewhat overwhelmed by the situation.

More recently there has been assistance and guidance from local authorities and Department of Tourism on how they might manage the situation. The villagers have organized themselves to guard the cave (24 hrs a day) and 8 people are involved guarding and controlling the entry to the cave via a 15 m Bamboo ladder. Within the cave guards are well positioned to prevent members of the public getting too close to the Buddha images.

An entrance fee is now in place for visitors, which has somewhat controlled/ limited the number of visitors that can enter the cave at any one time, reducing impact on the cave.

There have been several government official visits to the cave and it is hoped that the relevant stakeholders will soon meet to discuss the future of the cave. The provincial tourism office has made a recent survey of the cave and believes the site has the potential to become (already is) a major tourist attraction for Khammouane province, both for local people and foreign tourists.

Initially there were rumours that the Buddha statues might be removed for safekeeping to a museum in Vientiane; however, the Provincial government has now confirmed the bronze statues will remain in the cave and have assigned a series of committees to manage the cave for visitor purposes. The SNV Tourism Advisors (Netherlands development organization) based in Tha Kaek feel this was a wise decision as the Buddhas represent an important discovery for Khammouane Province and Lao PDR as a religious site, archaeological site and tourism attraction.

The Buddhas are, in the advisors opinion, well-protected at present by the community members. The cave also has the potential to benefit local people in the village of Ban Na Kan Sang and the wider area of Tha Kaek as a source of long-term income from entrance fees, food stalls and accommodation.

During the visit by the Tourism office the SNV advisors were able to meet with village elders and discuss some current concerns at the site. It was suggested that the current rope used in the cave to prevent visitors getting too close to the Buddhas be moved back one meter as offerings and candle wax by Buddhist devotees are accumulating on the site and images.

It was also suggested that the Monks in the cave remove (move back) all Buddhist donations that have been placed on and around the Buddhas so as to preserve the original state of the cave when it was discovered. There was also some discussion on the impact of candle smoke on the white walls of the cave, but it was agreed that this was a more difficult problem to address at present. The limestone formations within the cave are quite spectacular and add to the natural beauty of the cave.

Close to the cave are many stallholders from Tha Kaek selling snacks and drinks; unfortunately local villagers do not have the resources to set up such stalls, though it was suggested that they might sell fruits, which are now in season in the village.

The problem of trash was also mentioned and there was advice that the village leaders discuss this problem with the stallholders. The recommendation from the advisor was that the stallholders do a daily clean up and preferably take their trash with them back to Tha Kaek!

The village of Ban Na Kan Sang has only been in existence for 30 years, so it is very likely that the cave has remained undiscovered for quite some time. At the foot of the cliff is a much larger resurgence cave, which has been long visited and contains a large lake, which is also of interest for tourism purposes. You can travel into this cave by boat for about 50 meters and then it becomes too narrow to proceed further.

Things are happening very fast and this is an exciting time in Tha Kaek. One can only hope that this great opportunity to develop a major tourist /religious attraction is managed wisely. The benefits mentioned for local communities, Tha Kaek and the Province as a whole are potentially very large. It is hoped that the final decisions made on the caves development and management will involve discussions from several Government departments including the Culture and Tourism departments, both at provincial and national levels. And last but not least, that the community of Ban Na Kan Sang have a say in how “their” cave is managed.

Furthermore, it is also hoped that advice provided by SNV Netherlands in Khammouane Province be heeded well by local authorities.