Wat Ban Tham Dragon Mouth Temple Kanchanaburi is somewhere I have personally been wanting to visit for some time, and after one un-successful attempt to find it, I was fortunate to stumble across seeing it yesterday.
On a trip to Kanchanaburi, after visiting the Muang Sing Historical Park, I found myself riding around the back roads of the region on the Ducati Hyperstrada in search of some caves or other unique places. After turning onto a road that follows the opposite side of the river to Kanchanaburi city, I finally stumbled across this gem located quite off the beaten track. The shere size of the Dragon on the mountain is one which would impress even Khaleesi.
The temple features a long 500 step staircase that leads up the hill into an amazing dragons mouth. Once inside the dragon the walls are adorned with paintings that depict scenes from the classic Thai novel Khun Chang Khun Phae. The mountain where Wat Baan Tham stands on is 200 meters high.
The journey up the many steps lead to a temple near the top of the hill with a large cave behind which contains a stone in the shape of a woman from a local legend. If you still have some energy left from the first climb you can continue right to the top of the hill via a rustic steel staircase which will give you unimpeded views of the district below.
It has been said in the history of this temple that it was first built in the reign of Sukhothai. The cave was discovered by a rich man who decided to invite Luang Po Thong, the first abbot, to stay over here as the cave looks nice with the winds blowing all day long.Luang Po Thong was a very well-known monk and he had a Magpie bird and taught it about how to speak. Thus, presently, you can still spot Magpie birds around the cave and the surrounding area.
The cave itself houses a colony of bats, depending on the time of day you can hear them deeper in the cave, and you will smell them also.
There is one stalactite inside the cave which looks like a women’s body. It was named after Bua Kli who is a wife of Khun Paen in a legend Thai folklore, Khun Chang Khun Phaen. Local women offer the statue dresses for good luck and fortune.
The main temple cave is something to behold, it has a magical feel with light shining through from the opening at the top of the cave.
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