The Chao Ram Cave (The Rama Cave)

Chao Ram Cave sits in the limestone hills of Ban Dan Lan Hoi district, west of Sukhothai’s old city, inside the boundary of the Chao Ram Cave Wildlife Sanctuary. Its original name was Tham Phra Ram — Phra Ram’s Cave — recorded in King Ramkhamhaeng’s First Inscription, the stone that founded the Sukhothai kingdom, and locals later shortened this to Chao Ram. The site is thought to have served as a resting place for the king.

The cave itself is large: two entrances sit close together, opening onto a passage system that runs roughly 1,091 metres through 10 connected chambers covering about 4,718 square metres of floor. In one of the larger chambers, the ceiling has collapsed into a natural skylight around 70 metres across, letting sunlight reach the cave floor. Historically the cave held several Buddha images — a carved wooden standing figure locals called Phra Ram, granite sculptures, and a small sandstone Buddha from the Nakhon Wat period, found here in 1929 and since moved to a nearby temple. The cave is also home to a colony of insect-eating bats; the main visitor draw is watching them stream out at dusk, roughly around 18:00.

Watch out: because the cave is administratively part of a wildlife sanctuary rather than a standard tourist site, opening arrangements can be less predictable than the free, walk-in framing you’ll see repeated online. If you’re planning a special trip out from Sukhothai, it’s worth calling ahead to the district office or a local guide to confirm the cave is accessible that day.

Insider Tip: Time your visit for late afternoon and stay until dusk for the bat exodus — it’s the one experience here that reliably delivers, regardless of what else is or isn’t open when you arrive. Wear shoes with grip; some of the chamber floors stay damp year-round.

The cave shares its limestone range with Ramkhamhaeng National Park (Khao Luang), a separate protected area covering the same district, and Tham Thara Wasan is another Sukhothai cave worth comparing if you want to see more than one on the same trip. Visit Sukhothai for the historical park and the rest of the province.