Kayak Tour - Ban Bor Thor

Free Cancellation up until 4:00pm the day before this trip!

Ban Bor Thor is an area about a 40-50 minute minibus ride north of Krabi and Ao Nang. The area is a National Park in which there is a complex system of rivers, inlets and limestone caves. This area is one of the earliest sites of human occupation in Thailand and is rich in archeological treasures, artifacts and cave drawings. Many of these caves are only accessible by Kayak.

The tour is suitable for beginners, no experience is necessary.

The kayaks are three seat kayaks and at the beginning of the trip the guides will work with the group to assign people to kayaks. They are very easy going, so its not forced in any way, they just try to arrange it so that it will be fun and not too hard work. Single guests will either be matched with a guide or another single.

At the beginning of the trip, you will be fitted with a life jacket (not compulsory but I would advise all children and non-swimmers to use one). The guide will then give you a brief lesson in handling a kayak and safety.

This Krabi Kayak tour will show you all these features and so much more. As well as the archeological attraction, the area really is just a beautiful place to spend some time paddling down the narrow channels between the mangroves.Travelling this silently you will get to see all the wildlife that inhabits the water and banks, many brightly colored birds, and even otters. The local operators that run the Bor Thor tours are a very eco-friendly group and work hard to protect the area. They do not take food on the boats specifically to avoid encouraging the wildlife to become dependent on them. As a result, on some days you will see lots of monkeys and other wildlife and others you won't see so much. This approach is the only way to protect the ecosystem for the future.

The trip begins with a padd;e down the river for about 15 minutes to the entrance through the cave, right under the mountain. The river is quite a big river, but its really beautiful scenery with Krabi's famous cliffs jutting up on either side. The water is very calm and makes for easy paddling.

Tham Lod Cave is a tunnel right under the cliffs through which you can paddle with your kayak, the cave is decorated richly with stalactites and stalagmites. Then discover Tham Lod Nua and the cave painting adorned Tham Pee Hua Toh, two other caves that go deep into the mountain.The isolation in the caves with just the sound of the occasional drip strips away the noise and hustle and bustle of modern days leaving you to experience the caves as our ancestors did many thousands of years ago.

Many people ask about how this tour differs from the Thalane Bay kayaking trip and its really that Thalane is more about the mangroves with its many narrow corridors through the mangroves wheras Bor Thor is more about the caves.

The caves are truly fantastic though, Tham Lod Nua is a place where you the trip stops and you get out of the kayak (a nice rest from paddling) and can take some time to walk through the cave. You'll get to see the cave paintings high up on the ceiling of the cave, its a rare opportunity to see paintings thousands of years old and they really are very impressive. The guides are very knowledgeable about the area, the nature and the archeogical history of the place, so, if you are interested, you can learn a lot. (We recently made a tour inspection and Chai, our guide, was, without doubt, the best guide we have had in Krabi, he's interesting and fun, friendly and soft voiced.

On some days it is possible to paddle right through one of the caves into a lagoon further up the river. On some days lunch is taken between before going to this lagoon and on others it will be straight on to there. The lagoon is a truly beautiful place, an unspoilt paradise.

Total distance of kayaking is about 6 and a half km. The water is very flat and easy going. Total time on the water is about 3.5 hours.

Please note that tide times do affect this trip, the best time to go is probably a mid tide time when all the routes through the caves and mangroves are possible.