Wat Suwan Khuha (Monkey Cave Temple)

Wat Suwan Khuha (Monkey Cave Temple) tickets and tours: which one to book

No ticket for Wat Suwan Khuha is sold online. A small entrance fee is collected in cash at the gate, and that is all you need to see the cave temple. Stalls by the car park sell drinks, souvenirs and bananas for the monkeys, though feeding them is best avoided. The temple lies in the countryside of Phang Nga province, a few kilometres from the shore of Phang Nga Bay and around 90 minutes by road from northern Phuket or an hour from Khao Lak. Very few visitors come independently;

most arrive as part of a full-day trip to Phang Nga Bay, which combines a longtail or speedboat ride among the limestone islands, a stop at the famous rock pinnacle known as James Bond Island, a visit to the stilt village of Koh Panyee for lunch and, on the way back, a short stop at this cave temple. Such tours include hotel transfers, the boat, a guide and lunch, and usually the national park fee, while the temple fee may be paid separately. Some tours also add a sea kayaking session through hidden lagoons. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the temple. Travellers with a rented car or a private driver can visit on their own, which allows a longer look at the caves and a quieter time, before or after the tour groups.

Visiting Wat Suwan Khuha (Monkey Cave Temple): what to see and how to behave

Wat Suwan Khuha is built into a limestone outcrop, and its main shrine is a large cave rather than a hall. Inside, the first and largest chamber is dominated by a gilded reclining Buddha, roughly 15 m long, lying along one wall with its head propped on its hand. Around it stand smaller seated Buddhas, altars with offerings and Buddhist banners, and the cave walls are lit by natural light falling through openings in the rock. The temple has long received royal visits, and the initials of several Thai kings, carved or painted on the rock during their visits in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, can be found on the cave walls. From the main chamber, stairways and passages lead to smaller upper caves with stalactites and further shrines;

they are dimmer and the steps can be slippery, so wear shoes with good grip and take care. Outside, a modern temple with a monastery stands in the grounds below the rock. The monkeys are the second attraction and the main hazard. A large troop of macaques lives around the entrance and the car park, and they are bold: keep bags closed, hold on to sunglasses and phones, do not carry food in plain sight and do not tease them. Inside the cave, behave as in any shrine: remove your shoes where asked, cover shoulders and knees, speak quietly and do not touch or pose on the Buddha images.

Wat Suwan Khuha (Monkey Cave Temple): opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple is open daily during daylight hours, roughly from morning until late afternoon; check locally, as times are not published online. Tour groups typically arrive in the middle of the afternoon, on the return leg from the bay, so an independent visit in the morning or around lunchtime is much quieter. The cave is cool at any time of day, which makes it a welcome stop in the heat. The best season on the Andaman coast is from November to April, when the sea is calm for the boat trips that bring most visitors here.

From May to October the southwest monsoon brings heavy rain and rough seas, and some bay tours are cancelled, though the cave temple itself remains accessible by road. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. Combine it with Phang Nga Bay and Koh Panyee, the Sa Nang Manora forest park near Phang Nga town, or the Samet Nangshe viewpoint at sunrise.