Tiger Cave Temple: the 1,237 steps
A staircase of 1,237 steps to a temple on a pinnacle, and a full horizon over the province at the top. The climb is steep, uneven, and the monkeys are not shy.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 3 hrs
Difficulty
●●●●○
Best time
Before 8am
Open
Every day
On site, no middleman
40 THB≈ 1.1 €
a donation is asked at the cave entrance; the temple and the stairway are free
Checked on 28 August 2026 at Career Gappers — Wat Tham Suea guide. Prices change: check before you go.
Wat Tham Suea is a forest monastery set in a network of limestone caves, where monks still live in cells cut into the rock. The name comes from a paw print tradition attributes to a tiger.
Above it, a staircase of 1,237 steps climbs to a golden chedi on a six-hundred-metre pinnacle. The steps are high, uneven and unshaded: allow an hour up, and a full horizon at the top, out to the Andaman Sea.
Getting there
Nine kilometres north-east of Krabi Town, thirty minutes from Ao Nang by scooter or taxi.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- 1.5 L of water
- Cap
- Headlamp
Rules on site
The steps are high with no continuous handrail: coming down is harder on the knees than going up. Shoulders and knees covered, and the macaques take hand-held bottles.
Other places in Krabi
Ao NangThe departure point for every island, with its beach and its lined-up longtails.
- Emerald Pool and hot springsA turquoise pool deep in the forest, and hot waterfalls a few kilometres away.
Klong Muang BeachThe sand north of Ao Nang, quiet, without the longtails or the vendors.
Railay and the limestone cliffsA peninsula reachable only by longtail. Sheer cliffs, turquoise water, and Thailand's best climbing routes right behind the beach.