Cave Lodge

I feel so lucky to have stayed in this wonderful place. A mixture of complete relaxation at the lodge and adventure in the river and caves. Our room was perfect for the 5 of us, surrounded by nature and a wonderful view of the river. Total bliss. We will definitely return.

We stumbled upon this resort simply by looking at Google Maps. Turned out to be one of our very most favorite destinations in Thailand. A rustic lodge with charming rooms in the jungle overlooking the river. A beautiful gathering area with a dining room and fantastic food and drinks. We were on a motorcycle tour of Northern Thailand and we rolled up, parked our bikes in a very nice and secure area and fell in love with this place. Not only were the accommodations perfect and unique, but the host was friendly and informative without being overbearing. We asked about activities and he gladly shared two of the best ones we were fortunate to experience. First was the evening return of the 300,000 birds to the cave along the river. About 5pm we walked from the lodge about 20 minutes to the mouth of cave and waited ... Right at dusk, hundreds of thousands of birds swooped into the cave to roost for the night. It was spectacular. The next day the lodge arranged inflatable kayaking down the river through the cave (which is huge and just unbelievable) to so rapids and several waterfalls which we went over! It was exhillerating, but not overly dangerous. It was quite thrilling to go over the falls! I really cant say enough good things about this place... You will love it. And definitely try the currys... We tried all three and shared... Also the Gin Tonics are lovely.... Truly a gem....

When we booked our holiday in Thailand my boyfriend insisted in visiting this place. We booked it for 1 night and are really sad that we weren't able to stay longer. This place looks absolutely amazing and especially the main area looks great. The nature all around is wonderful and the staff is very friendly. The cabin (don't think it's called a cabin, but I think it looked like that) is so cute and had an amazing view. I immediately fell in love with it. The bathroom was also much better than I expected! We booked a kayaking trip through our hosts and it was the best thing of our 1,5 week trip so far! Food here is amazing as well. In the evening I lounged in the main area and read the story of John. Would absolutely recommend going here and staying for longer than 1 night!

I stayed in the Cave Lodge dormitory with other back packers like me for a few weeks in 1991/1992 and the whole stay there was one of the most memorable of my life. My last bit of travel up hill just to get there was on a motor bike, funny rider! I went impulsively on a day trip with John Spies and some other guests, two girls dropped out, too hard but I kept going, just me and the boys. I think John realised I was determined to hang on and held out his hand to help me up in the first uphill. Explored the beautiful mountains, caves, burials underground, giant multicoloured poppies. Fast pace. Also went on the yearly trip for two days deep underground (so slept in cave) which meant wading through a river, climbing under and over a waterfall in the cave. Eating a gorgeous Thai curry the guides somehow cooked underground with a saucepan! I don't know the name of the cave, but it was very beautiful, like coloured marble in places, white crystal everywhere. Fascinating other walks seeing all the local tribes especially around Chinese New Year.