Laos is a country of staggering natural beauty, yet much of it remains virtually undiscovered. While few visitors to the country miss the charm of Luang Prabang, very few make it to the awesome Thong Lor Cave in little visited Central Laos.. In a land of limestone mountains, rivers and waterfalls caves are not uncommon. But this is a cave with a difference! Located in the beautiful Phu Hin Bun National Protected area. We pass by many local villagers and rice fields before the landscape begins to change and limestone outcrops spring out of the otherwise flat surroundings. This is an area of staggering beauty! Limestone peaks launch themselves from the paddy fields, which are a rich green before they turn into golden yellow before harvest time. Rivers flow from the mountains and form turquoise blue lakes and lagoons. 

We had driven around 6 hours from the sleepy capital of Vientiane and were on our way to the 4000 Islands in the far South of Laos before crossing overland into Cambodia. Most travellers opt to fly to the Southern town of Pakse, but we had heard of this special place that had been labeled “The natural wonder of South East Asia”, and decided to make the effort to experience it for ourselves. We spent the night at the charismatic Sala Konglor. The simple but comfortable wooden bungalows sit on the rivers edge with wonderful views of the surroundings reflected in the waters.

We made an early start to get ahead of the few visitors who actually make it to this special place. A short drive takes us deeper into the protected area we enter tall forests of hardwood trees. We arrive at the cavernous entrance of Tham Kong Lo where we put on our life jackets and head torches and are introduced to our private canoe with local crew of two. Our boatmen skillfully navigated us through the river in the cave. At times water rushes past us, at others we slip through still waters. There are occasions when we need to get out of the boat to avoid rapids. This gives us the opportunity to explore some of the passages, caves and caverns that are home to stalactites and stalagmites works of art created for us by thousands of years of nature’s artistic design. We travel for 7.5 kms until a tiny fleck of light grows bigger and bigger as we approach the exit the cave, the blue sky and lush green outside greats us as we emerge from the darkness. We enjoyed a simple local lunch as we watched kingfishers darting from the waters edge. And then its time to return from where we came, we travel back through this wonderful cave. I have visited many caves in the world, and I have to confess, I am not really that great a fan. But Thong Lor Cave really is a natural wonder and one that is refreshingly free (for now!) of bus loads of tourists. It took some effort getting here, but you don’t get such rewards nowadays without putting in some work. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say!