sign in a cave in Laos

25 December 2011

Wat Khuha Phimuk, Yala, Thailand

Wat Khuha Phimuk, also called Wat Na Tham, is a cave temple in Yala province.
It is about 5 km west of Yala, lying to the south of the 409 Yala to Hat Yai road near Na Tham.

I've been there twice, in 1993 and 2000.

Stairs lead up to the main cave temple and in 1993 the dragon handrail looked quite new.

The 1st pic was taken in 1993, the next 2 in 2000
The statue is large as you can see people at the base in 2 photos.

The cave is full of Buddhas of different kinds including a fat Chinese one, one wearing a crown, some less attractive ones and a thin one.
The last Buddha was seen in 2000.

The main Buddha is reclining and 24.5 m long. This is believed to have been constructed in 757 A.D. and is of Sivichaya style Reclining Buddha.

There is a nice marbled floor but lots of bats mean the floor gets covered in guano.

Further along the hill is Shop Cave, just a small chamber with Buddhas and a Goddess of Mercy.

And walk a bit more and you reach the main cave. It is very extensive and maze like. It is electrically lit but is not used as a temple. The stal is old and dry but the floor is damp.

There is a second entrance by the lake and there are statues of Chinese mandarins. When I was back in 2000 this cave was locked.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

1 comment:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete