Famous Tham Luang caves to be opened to visitors from Oct 15
Chiang Rai’s famous Tham Luang cave complex will finally be opened to visitors from Friday.
Kawee Prasompon, chief of the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, said all visitors will be screened and every Covid-19 prevention measure will be observed. Only 40 visitors will be allowed into the cave complex at any given time.
Visitors will also be required to present proof of vaccination or negative test results before they are allowed in.
In June 2018, the world was transfixed for 17 days when an elaborate rescue operation was launched after the 12-member Wild Boars football team and their coach got trapped in the caves by rising floods.
The 200-metre-deep Chamber 1, which visitors will use to enter the complex, was the command centre for the rescue operation led by former Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn and the Thai Navy Seals.
The Wild Boars have become celebrities and films have been made about their ordeal. The cave complex has been off-limits to the public, though the bronze statue at the entrance of Saman Gunan, a diver who died in the operation, has been attracting visitors.
