Piyamit Tunnel

Piyamit Tunnel is a hand-dug hideout that communist guerrillas carved through a Betong hillside in 1976, now open as a museum and walk-through tunnel in Tano Maero subdistrict near the Malaysian border. Entry runs around 40 THB, and the site is open daily from 8am to 4:30pm.

Cadres of the Communist Party of Malaya’s 12th Regiment spent about three months digging the network by hand after retreating into Thai territory, working with picks and baskets rather than machinery. The finished tunnel stretches close to a kilometre through the hillside, originally with nine separate entrances, and could shelter up to 200 people during air raids by Thai and Malaysian forces. Walking through today, electric lighting runs the length of the main passage, and side chambers off the main corridor are labelled as sleeping quarters, a kitchen, a dispensary and a planning room — the everyday spaces of an underground camp rather than a fortified bunker. The air stays noticeably cooler than outside, and low ceilings and uneven laterite floors mean the walk isn’t fully step-free.

Insider Tip: Bring a light layer for the tunnel itself — the temperature drop is real enough to notice after the Betong heat — and wear shoes with grip, since sections of the floor stay damp.

The insurgency that built the tunnel ended on 2 December 1989, when the CPM signed a peace accord with the Malaysian government at Hat Yai. The surrounding settlements were renamed “Piyamit,” meaning good friend, and former combatants who settled locally helped turn the tunnel into the museum it is today. A small exhibition near the entrance displays weapons, uniforms and photographs from the CPM years, and there’s a shaded rest area with basic food stalls before you head in.

Watch out: Tunnel floors can be slippery after rain, and low sections mean taller visitors will want to duck in places — this isn’t a fully accessible route.

Betong itself is considered the calmest, most visited town in Thailand’s deep south, and the tunnel draws a steady stream of Thai and Malaysian day-trippers rather than feeling like a fringe destination. That said, Yala province still sees occasional low-level insurgent incidents, and foreign governments continue to advise increased caution across the three southernmost provinces. Travelling the main road from Yala town by daylight and checking current conditions before you go is sensible; once in Betong, the town runs normally with hotels, restaurants and markets operating as usual. Combine the visit with the Betong Mongkhonrit Tunnel — a modern road tunnel on the opposite side of town, unrelated to this one despite the similar name — or the Aiyoeweng Sea of Mist viewpoint for a full day out from Betong.