Operating day: Daily

Operating time: 08.00 - 17.00

 

Tham Klab Thong Chai, Muang Phetchaburi, Phetchaburi. It is the name of a small cave located in the temple area at the foot of Khao Luang on the south side. This cave is level with the ground and is in the same area as Wat Tham Klaep. Today, the name has been changed about 60 years ago to Wat Boonthawi.

 

When viewed from the outside, Tham Klaep looks like a cave in a niche in a rock with small niches. Later, meditation practitioners converted these niches into rooms with doors that can be opened and closed. Some shallow niches have Buddha images built into them.

 

The upper part of the cave, which is a niche in the mountain, is poured with concrete to make a floor beam instead of a roof. In addition, it is decorated with bricks and cement to make walkways and rooms, causing Tham Klaep to change almost completely from its original state. The natural condition of the cave is unfortunately lost.

 

The legend of Tham Klaep, which has been told as a folktale, says that in the morning, people will see a pile of rice husks that someone has piled up. However, when they sweep it away, the next morning they will go back to look and see more rice husks piled up again. Therefore, people believe that Tham Klaep is one way out for people who are deep inside. When the rice husks are separated, they are always piled up in front of this cave. This cave is called the “Krabe Cave”.

 

It is believed that deep inside the cave, there must be people living there. Those people must not be ordinary people. They must have special characteristics that outsiders cannot easily find. Inside this valley, there must be a secret or mysterious community. It is said that there are only women, or it is a city of widows or a hidden city. As the story goes:

 

There was a man who climbed up to do a mission on a palm tree. He saw a group of people carrying things out of the cave. After walking out for a while, they hid something near the mouth of the cave and then disappeared. The next day, he hid in the bushes and saw the group of people coming out of the cave again. They did the same thing. He went to look. He only found a leaf, so he picked up one and threw it under the palm tree. He sat and watched until the people returned.

 

They looked for things in that area and then disappeared. Only a young woman was left crying. When he went to ask her, he found out that she could not find the hidden leaf. He went to pick up the leaf and gave it to her. She was very happy and told her who she was. If she did not have the leaf, she could not go home. The man asked to go to the hidden city with him. After that, the two of them lived together as husband and wife and lived together until they had a child. One day, while the wife was away from home and left her husband to take care of the child, the child started crying for its mother.

 

He did not know how to comfort the child so he lied to the child that its mother had returned. The mother-in-law happened to hear it and told her daughter that her husband had told a lie, which was considered a serious offense because he did not speak truthfully and the people of Laplae would not do so.

 

He had to leave Laplae in the end. Before her husband left the house, she wrapped a large bag of turmeric and gave it to her husband. As he carried the bag of turmeric, he felt that the bag of turmeric was getting heavier and he threw it away until he had only one piece left to take home. When he returned home, the piece of turmeric had turned into pure gold. He felt sorry but what could he do? It was too late.

 

How to get there: Wat Boonthawi (Tham Klaep), Village 8, Tambon Thang Chai, Mueang Phetchaburi District, Phetchaburi Province