Tham Sa Koen National Park

Tham Sa Koen National Park sits in Song Khwae district, one of Nan province’s most remote corners near the Laos border — not Chiang Rai, and not the same park as the well-known Phu Chi Fa viewpoint further east. The park office lies about 120 km from Nan town: Route 1080 to Tha Wang Pha, then Route 1148 through Song Khwae to the village of Ban Sakoen and the park entrance beyond it.

The signature stop is Tham Luang Sakoen, an illuminated cave roughly 15 minutes’ walk from the park office, where a lit pathway winds past stalactite and stalagmite formations built up over millions of years. It’s an easy, non-technical visit rather than an adventure caving trip — bring a jacket, since the underground air sits noticeably cooler than outside. Entry to the park is 100 THB for foreign adults and 20 THB for Thai adults, with reduced child rates, payable at the office.

Beyond the cave, the park’s territory extends into forested ridgeline shared with neighbouring Chiang Kham and Pong districts in Phayao. Namtok Pha Than offers a modest waterfall stop, and Phu An Ma — named for its horse-saddle silhouette — gives a 360-degree ridge view that’s become a minor sunrise/sea-of-mist spot for Nan and Phayao locals, though it sits on the park’s Phayao-side boundary rather than right at the main office.

Watch out: this is a genuinely out-of-the-way park with limited signage in English and no large-scale tourist infrastructure. Fuel up before Song Khwae, and don’t expect mobile signal to be reliable much past the district town.

Insider Tip: visit the cave in the morning when the lighting circuit is freshest and the walk-in path is coolest — afternoons in the dry season bring strong heat on the exposed approach road even though the cave itself stays cool.

For more of Nan’s national parks, Doi Phu Kha National Park, Khun Nan National Park, and Mae Charim National Park round out the province’s protected highlands — all within the Nan area.