Travel
Krabi: Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple) and a demanding hilltop visit
Last reviewed: 2026-07-16
Written by Ricardo Dos Santos
A forest-monastery cave complex where a meditating monk once shared space with a tiger, and a staircase of some 1,260 uneven steps that turns a temple visit into a genuine climb.
A monk, a cave, a tiger
In 1975, vipassana forest monk Ajahn Jamnian Seelasettho came to meditate in a cave about 8km northeast of Krabi town. He stayed, a community grew around him, and the site became a working forest monastery where monks' dwellings (kuti) are built directly into the cliffside and karst cavities. Ajahn Jamnian went on to become one of Thailand's most respected meditation teachers.
Where the name comes from
Accounts differ. Some say a real tiger lived in the cave and was regularly seen by the meditating monk. Others point to claw marks shaped like a tiger's paw on the cave walls, or the cave's own silhouette, said to resemble a giant feline footprint. No version is officially settled — which is part of the site's appeal.
A little-known fact: an open-air ossuary
At the base of the staircase, the complex doubles as an informal archaeological site. Human skeletons and decorated skulls are displayed at several points — a memento mori teaching tool common to Thai forest-monastery tradition, meant to underline the body's impermanence. Ancient stone tools, pottery shards and carved Buddha footprints uncovered on site are also on view. Monkeys, meanwhile, have colonised the lower stairway.
The climb: 1,237 steps, or closer to 1,260
Signage states 1,237 steps, but a rebuilt section has pushed the actual current count closer to 1,260, with irregular risers, some over 30cm high. The summit sits at roughly 278 metres elevation (some sources cite up to 309m). Allow 45 minutes to 1.5 hours up depending on fitness, and about the same coming down — budget 2-3 hours in total including the lower cave complex.
Practical information
Entry is free, with donation boxes placed around the site. Standard Thai temple modesty rules apply: shoulders and knees covered. The site is generally open from early morning (around 7-8am) to dusk (roughly 6pm), though cave and summit access can close earlier — worth confirming locally. Wat Tham Suea sits about 8km northeast of Krabi town, roughly 20-30 minutes by car or taxi from Ao Nang.