Visit Tham Jang, Laos

Located southwest of Vang Vieng in Laos, Tham Jang (or Tham Chang) is Vang Vieng’s most famous of the caves. In the early 19th century the cave was used as a bunker during the Chinese-Ho invasion. It was also the residence of migrating people who settled near the town’s southern Meuand Xong Village to plant vegetables. During a civil war, the local people stumbled into the cavern as seeking deep in the forest. Because the cave was located on high location and offered the perfect view of Vang Vieng, the entire village moved there to avoid the war and named it Tham Jang (Hang Around Cave. Years later during the colonial period, the local people returned there to cultivate the nearby lands. They then renamed the cave to Tham Chang which means “unable to move”. Tham Jang has a pristine beauty. At the foot of the cave there’s a cool spring and water running out of the mountain into the river is very crystal clear. The cave inside has stairs and well-lit by artificial lights. There’s also a set of stairs leading up the main cavern entrance. The most impressive is that the view from the top of the stairs let tourists a wonderful look at the whole of Vang Vieng.

Photo: Basile Morin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.