Visit Fish Cave Temple (Wat Tham Pla) (Chiang Rai)

This temple located 16 kilometers before Mae Sai and therefore 45 kilometers from Chiang Rai is a nice stopover on the road to or from Mae Sai. Its name literally means ''fish cave temple'' but you can also hear about it under the nickname of ''monkey temple'' because a horde of monkeys live in the mountain just above it and inevitably some of them come in the temple too. Your presence will barely disturb the monkeys that you can easily approach but remain cautious anyway. The monkeys, the pond with the fishes and the cave are the curiosities of Wat Thaam Pla. There is also a closed pool with crocodiles but you know me, I prefer to see animals live in freedom. This is my only regret about this little known temple that very rarely see foreign tourists and that I really like.

Once you enter, the ordination hall will face you with probably some monkeys on the roof and behind you will see a steep mountain with a small white chedi. On the right, you will see a king of a hell garden and a little further an old chedi. The pond with the fishes is on the left of the ordination hall and behind it starts the long Naga staircase that leads to a sort of canyon at the end of which you will find the entrance to the cave. The climb, a bit steep, is not that long. Just up the stairs on the left there is an access to a platform offering a dominant view over the surroundings. At the entrance of the cave, you can rent a flashlight. Inside, you will see some Buddhas images. I can not tell you more about the inside of the cave, arrived at 5:30 pm, it was dark already and there was no one to rent a lamp anymore.