Rainy season, safety and preparation
May, Aug – Oct
Phu Pha Raet — Many monkeys
1–2 hours
Good
7 days ahead
When to go
this week
Tap a day card to see that day’s weather, rain, haze and hourly forecast
Best time to go Best window 06:00–16:00 Little rain
Holiday — traffic on the way up and parking fills fast; leave early
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
Holiday — traffic on the way up and parking fills fast; leave early
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
Holiday — traffic on the way up and parking fills fast; leave early
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Best window 06:00–14:00 Little rain · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Best window 08:00–19:00 Little rain · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Starry sky
How likely
Scored from cloud cover at every level and tonight’s moonlight — the darker the sky, the clearer the Milky Way · tap another night below for the next 7 nights
Khao Ngu Stone Park
Khao Ngu Stone Park, Ko Phlap Phla, Mueang Ratchaburi, Ratchaburi.
- Soft light, fewer monkeys
- Very hot, little shade
- Evening light on the cliffs
Arrive 16:00
- Suspension bridgeCliff reflectionsMorning
- Phu Pha RaetOld quarry faceAfternoon
- King-cobra statue roundaboutPark entranceDaytime
- Tham RuesiThe seated BuddhaDaytime
Gallery
Photos from Wikimedia Commons and contributors · full credits inClassic page
Good to know here
Many monkeys
Steep; slippery in rain
- Keep food hidden — monkeys are everywhere and have chewed car wipers
- Some caves are unlit; bring a torch
- Dress modestly; the caves are shrines
- Combine with Wat Mahathat Worawihan and Khu Bua nearby
Adults 0 THB · Time needed 1–2 hours
Weekends
| Pedal boat optional | 50 ฿/boat |
| Park tram optional | 20 ฿/person |
Cash · Prices may change by season — check with the venue
- Kids Good; watch them near water and monkeys
- Seniors Lakeside is easy; Tham Ruesi is about 40 steps up
- Wheelchair Lakeside paths partly; caves no
- Pets Allowed in the park grounds per visitors; beware of monkeys
- Café and carts at the entranceDrinks and snacks
- Kyoto Shi CafeJapanese food at Hin Kong, about 6 km
- Som Tam Lao Kao RatchaburiAbout 2 km
- Dress modestly in the caves
- Photograph cave Buddhas without flash
- Do not feed the monkeys
- Do not climb on or touch the ancient reliefs
- Large monkey troop that snatches food and has damaged cars
- Steep cave steps; Tham Fa Tho is steeper
- Little shade; very hot at midday
First waxing day of the 11th lunar month: worship of the Tham Ruesi Buddha
Best months
Tap a month on the wheel to see weather, rain, haze and crowds from 10 years of records
Best time · Nov–Feb for cool, dry weather and easy cave climbs · 08:00–10:00 or late afternoon for softer sun
Watch out · 11:00–15:00 — strong sun, little shade · rainy-season cave steps are slippery
21°Jan
22°Feb
24°Mar
26°Apr
26°May
26°Jun
25°Jul
25°Aug
25°Sep
24°Oct
23°Nov
22°Dec
Oct by the records 24–31°C · avg rain 259 mm (23 rainy days) · clear 1 days · avg PM2.5 12
The story of this place
Khao Ngu Stone Park lies at Ko Phlap Phla, Mueang Ratchaburi, about 6–8 km from town on Hwy 3087. It is a Royal Forest Department learning and recreation project on about 755 rai of forest land, not a national park. The Khao Ngu range is an isolated Permian limestone outcrop of the Ratburi Group; its caves are looked after by the Fine Arts Department with the local municipality.
Read more 4 more paragraphs
The caves have been shrines since the Dvaravati period, around the 7th–8th century CE. Tham Ruesi holds a relief of a Buddha seated with legs pendant, about 2.5 m tall; between the ankles a Sanskrit inscription in Pallava script records the merit of "Śrī Samādhigupta", perhaps its maker. Tham Cham has a relief of the Twin Miracle and a naga-sheltered Buddha, and Tham Fa Tho an 8 m stucco reclining Buddha. The site is linked to the ancient city of Khu Bua, about 10 km away.
In the Ayutthaya period sandstone Buddhas were placed in the caves and a Buddha footprint was made on the summit. At the mouth of Tham Rakhang is King Chulalongkorn's cipher "118 Jo Po Ro" (1899). The French surveyor Lunet de Lajonquière visited in 1909, George Cœdès first read the inscription in 1929, and the Fine Arts Department registered the site as a monument in the Royal Gazette on 8 March 1935.
A 1925 photograph in the book Samut Ratchaburi still shows Khao Ngu intact. Around 1966 the government allowed the hills to be blasted for construction stone, and at the peak 24 stone-crushing plants worked here; blasting came within 30–40 m of Tham Fa Tho. In 1987 Ratchaburi residents and conservation clubs from almost every university marched in protest, and the government revoked all concessions, ending the blasting. Ratchaburi Province and the Royal Forest Department then turned the old quarry into a park with a lake, a suspension bridge, a king-cobra statue roundabout and the Phu Pha Raet viewpoint over the blasted cliff.
Today the park is free to enter. Each year on the first waxing day of the 11th lunar month the Tham Ruesi Buddha is worshipped. Monkeys are numerous: in 2026 they were reported chewing wiper rubber and door seals on parked cars, so keep food out of sight. In the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) assessed Khao Ngu as a mountain-type natural site, named Khao Ngu Subdistrict Municipality as the responsible agency, and rated it "good" both years.
- 7th–8th c.Dvaravati Buddhas carved in Tham Ruesi, Tham Cham and Tham Fa Tho
- Ayutthaya periodSandstone Buddhas placed; summit footprint made
- 1899King Chulalongkorn's cipher carved at Tham Rakhang
- 1909Lunet de Lajonquière surveys the site
- 1925Samut Ratchaburi photo shows Khao Ngu intact
- 1929Cœdès first reads the inscription
- 8 Mar 1935Registered as a national monument
See 4 events
- c. 1966Blasting permitted; 24 crushing plants
- 1987Protests; all concessions revoked
- after the banQuarry restored as Khao Ngu Stone Park
- 2023–2024ONEP rates the natural site "good"
Check-ins & visitor photos
Arrived? Check in, collect a stamp and tell others what it is like right now
Check your location first, so you do not fill in the form for nothing
Location must be on and within 2.5 km · One check-in per place per day · come back on other days to check in again
Post photos from anywhere — no need to be here · Up to 20 photos at a time · JPG / PNG / WebP · GPS location data is removed automatically
How to get there
Paved; ordinary cars are fine
Rama 2 or Phetkasem Rd to Ratchaburi, then Hwy 3087 · Fuel
To Ratchaburi town, then Grab · Metered
Hwy 3087 (Ratchaburi–Chom Bueng)
Free parking by the lake and at Phu Pha Raet viewpoint
Ratchaburi town
Good
About 08:00–17:00 (sources differ)
around 8 km fromRatchaburi town
Khao Ngu Stone Park
0 THB
Stays near Khao Ngu Stone Park
Approx. nightly price for 2 adults (next week) · final price depends on your dates
FAQ
Before you goKhao Ngu Stone Park
Answers travellers want before they go — a one-minute read
Is Khao Ngu Stone Park free?
Yes. Entry and parking are free; pedal boats and the tram cost extra
How old is the Buddha in Tham Ruesi?
Dvaravati, about the 7th–8th century CE, with a Sanskrit inscription in Pallava script naming Śrī Samādhigupta
Is it a national park?
No. It is a Royal Forest Department recreation project of about 755 rai on a former quarry; the caves were registered as monuments in 1935
Are there monkeys?
Many, especially at Phu Pha Raet. Do not feed them and watch your car
How far from Ratchaburi town?
About 6–8 km on Hwy 3087, about 10 minutes
Did a king visit?
King Chulalongkorn's cipher "Jo Po Ro 118" (1899) is carved at the mouth of Tham Rakhang
Ready to go to Khao Ngu Stone Park?
Best day this week: Thursday 29 Oct · Check in when you arrive to collect a stamp