Sunset Viewpoint (Phahong Cave)

Sunset Viewpoint (Pha Hong Cave) sits inside Nam Nao National Park on Phetchabun’s stretch of Highway 12, the Lom Sak-Chum Phae road. The entrance is at kilometre 39, about 10 kilometres from the park headquarters — a short 500-metre side road leads to the parking area, where 259 steps climb roughly 100 metres to the viewpoint itself.

The route up passes through the mouth of Pha Hong Cave, where a Buddha image sits for visitors to pay respects, surrounded by stalactite formations that look, as local guides describe it, almost sculpted. It’s also home to a resident bat colony, so don’t be surprised by movement and noise overhead in the darker chambers. From the cave mouth the path continues up the open hillside to a bare rock platform with a clear, unobstructed view west over Nam Nao’s forested ridgelines — the reason people make the climb at all. Because it’s genuinely a hike rather than a short walk, wear proper shoes; sandals on wet steps here are a bad idea.

Standard national park entry applies rather than a separate ticket — 200 THB for foreign adults, 100 THB for children, with the Thai-national rate a fraction of that. The park runs 08:00-18:00 daily, and for anyone who’d rather skip the steps, pickup trucks run from the visitor centre toward the viewpoint for a fare, though you’ll need to book a seat at the park office rather than flag one down at the trailhead.

Arrive with at least an hour of daylight left before sunset — the climb takes 30-45 minutes at a reasonable pace, and the platform fills up on clear evenings. Once the sun drops, the trail back down has no lighting, so a torch or phone light isn’t optional.

Safety Tip: The 259 steps get uneven in places and the last stretch to the platform is exposed rock — take it slowly in the dark on the way down, and skip the climb entirely if it’s actively raining.

Insider Tip: The cave interior is noticeably cooler than the exposed climb above it — a good excuse to pause and let your legs recover before the final push to the platform.

This viewpoint is part of Nam Nao National Park — check there for the park’s other trails and facilities. The Phetchabun destination guide covers the wider area.