Khao Ok Thalu

Phatthalung people regard Khao Ok Thalu as sacred, a kind of city pillar and the home of the goddess Chao Mae Dudee. The provincial seal shows the mountain with a chedi on top, and the provincial slogan names it alongside shadow puppets and Nora dance, rice fields, waterfalls, waterbirds, the lake and hot springs.

The oldest evidence linked to the mountain is unfired clay votive tablets of bodhisattvas and deities in Srivijaya style, found in caves at Khao Ok Thalu and Khuha Sawan. TAT dates them to the 13th–14th Buddhist centuries, showing the area took up Mahayana Buddhism from India some 1,200 years ago.

The mountain holds several caves; a Wongnai write-up names Tham Phim, Tham Khura and Tham Talap. Near the summit a wide cave mouth and shaft pierce through to the other side, so from inside the sky looks as if seen down a barrel.

Phatthalung has a long history. Under Ayutthaya it was a southern town based at Sathing Phra, now in Songkhla, often raided and burned by Malay pirates. In the Thonburi and Rattanakosin eras the town moved several times and played a part in the Nine Armies War and the suppression of the Kedah revolt, until in 1933 the monthon system was abolished and it became Phatthalung province. Throughout, Khao Ok Thalu remained a landmark visible from afar.

Khao Ok Thalu became a mountain in the middle of town in 1924, when Phatthalung moved to Khuha Sawan subdistrict. Wat Khuha Sawan, about 2 km from the foot, is tied to the town's story. The provincial temple register dates it to 1381, without firm evidence; it was extensively restored in 1889 for King Chulalongkorn's tour of the Malay Peninsula, recorded by a "Cho Po Ro 108" inscription on the cliff before the cave. Phraya Khanasai Sunthon (Sa Suwannasan) restored it again in 1924, King Prajadhipok visited and left an inscription in 1928, the Fine Arts Department registered it as an ancient monument in 1935, and King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit visited and left inscriptions in 1959. The cave is about 18 m wide and 28 m long, with 37 Buddha images.

The legend has several versions. One recorded by Pramot Thatsanasuwan in "Thiao Thua Thai" tells of a handsome man happily married until he took a second wife. The first wife confronted her, and as they hurled objects at each other the husband stepped in and was struck through the chest by a rice pestle, becoming Khao Ok Thalu, while the second wife, struck on the head, became Khao Hua Taek (Broken Head Mountain).

Another version names the man Mueang, his first wife Sila and his second wife Buppha, with Sila's daughter Yisun and Buppha's son Chang Khang. The women quarrel; Sila strikes Buppha with a spindle and Buppha hits back with a pestle. Both die and become mountains, Sila as Khao Ok Thalu and Buppha as Khao Hua Taek, the reverse of the first version. Khao Hua Taek can be seen on the way up, and the original form of the tale is unknown.

A 1943 photo in the Prime Minister's Office book "Phap Mueang Thai" shows rice paddies around Khao Ok Thalu, a reminder of Phatthalung's farming roots. Today the mountain rises east of Phatthalung railway station, and the hole is visible from the platform, so southern line passengers know they have reached Phatthalung.

The southern railway made Khao Ok Thalu the first sight for many visitors. A paper in Rusamilae Journal says the Trang–Thung Song section opened on 1 April 1913, the line to Phatthalung followed, and the line from Songkhla met it at Phatthalung station. The branch to Nakhon Si Thammarat at Ban Khao Chum Thong has been called Khao Chum Thong Junction since 1917, and an original plan to run straight from Trang to Phatthalung was changed because of the mountains around Khao Phap Pha.

There are two concrete stairways. On the right (facing the mountain) the older stairs go straight up to the hole; TAT says there are more than 1,000 steps taking about 30 minutes, while other sources say 1,066 or about 1,100. The left route, guarded by a pair of three-headed nagas, passes Wang Suk Khati Tham forest monastery and a nuns' meditation retreat, with a purple Ganesha, a four-faced Brahma beside a green Vishnu, and many Buddha images.

Originally there were no stairs, only a steep, difficult natural path; later 1,066 steps were built to make the gap reachable. At the top are a Buddha image and a hermit statue, with fences in places for safety. Climbers advise going in the morning because of the heat, and warn the path is slippery and dangerous in the rains.

At the hole are images of Luang Pu Thuat, Luang Pho Panyananda and the Phra Phuttha Chayanti Buddha. Rest points along the way look out to Khao Hua Taek. Reaching the true summit means climbing another 50 m or so of rock face; a 2024 review says a rope is needed. The top gives a 360-degree view over Phatthalung.

Though it is the provincial symbol, a 2018 article by Wimonmat Prichakul of Prince of Songkla University noted that Khao Ok Thalu was "not organised for sightseeing", while Phatthalung's best-known stops were Thale Noi, Phrai Wan waterfall and Lam Pam lake. Climbing is free today, and the stairs are a morning and evening workout route for locals.