Doi Nang Non

LocationMae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, ThailandParent rangeDaen Lao RangeGeologyType of rockLimestoneClimbingEasiest routeFrom Mae Sai or Mae Chan

Doi Nang Non (Thai: ดอยนางนอน, pronounced [dɔ̄ːj nāːŋ nɔ̄ːn]; 'Mountain of the Sleeping Lady') is a mountain range in the Thai highlands in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. It is a karstic formation with numerous waterfalls and caves rising at the southern end of the Daen Lao Range. Part of its area is managed as the Tham Luang–Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park (Thai: วนอุทยานถ้ำหลวง-ขุนน้ำนางนอน).

Geography

Doi Nang Non consists of a long hill tract that lies on the west side of the highway between Chiang Rai and Mae Sai. The greater part of the range is in Mae Sai District, extending west and southwest of Pong Pha along the border with Myanmar.^[2] The mountain range is an unusual land feature when seen from certain angles as its silhouette takes the shape of a reclining woman with long hair. Its highest point is Doi Tung, which corresponds to the belly of the lady.^[1]

Caves

There are a number of caves and underground water courses in the range area.

• Tham Luang Nang Non (Thai: ถ้ำหลวงนางนอน; 'Great Cave of the Sleeping Lady') is a semi-dry^[a] limestone cave in the Doi Nang Non range.^[3] It is 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi) long, and has many deep recesses, narrow passages and tunnels winding under hundreds of meters of limestone strata.^[4] There are numerous stalactites and stalagmites in some parts of the system.^[4] In 2018, Tham Luang was the site of a rescue operation to find and evacuate a local junior football team trapped inside. The cave was damaged during the operation. Authorities plan to rehabilitate the cave and its surrounding landscape, and have discussed plans of turning the area into a national park due to the increased tourist interest in it.^[5][6]
• Khun Nam Nang Non (Thai: ขุนน้ำนางนอน; 'Headwaters of the Sleeping Lady') is a natural pond into which water flows from the rocks above. This water is said to be the tears of the legendary lady's ghost.

History

In 1986 an eight km² sector of the range which included the entrance to the main cave was declared the Tham Luang–Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park.^[7]

2018 rescue operation

On 23 June 2018, a group of twelve boys aged between 11 and 16, who went to explore Tham Luang Nang Non with their assistant football coach, aged 25, went missing. The group was found 10 days later. They were part of a local junior football team. The cave they entered became flooded. Thai Navy SEAL divers had been searching the caves ever since.^[8] Owing to heavy rain which further flooded the cave entrance, searches were periodically interrupted.^[9] Thai NAVY divers soon got help from American, Australian, British, and Chinese divers, military members, and emergency personnel.^[10][11]

The group was found alive on Monday evening, 2 July, according to a press release at 22:30. All 12 boys along with their coach were reported alive.^[12][13] They were found by British volunteer divers around 400 metres away from a spot nicknamed "Pattaya Beach", an elevated mound in the cave.^[14] Food and medical supplies were delivered but a three-hour-long journey, continued rains and mountainous terrain above the cave delayed their escape.^[13] On 8 July at 19:00 four of the boys had been rescued.^[15] By 10 July at 19:00, all of the boys and their coach had been rescued from the cave.^[16]

Legend

One of the legends goes that in ancient times a beautiful princess fell in love with a stable boy and became pregnant. Knowing their love was forbidden, they fled and went in the cave to rest. When the boy went in search of food, he was caught by the princess' father's army and killed. The distraught princess stabbed herself to death and the legend says her blood became the water that flows through the cave, while her body is the surrounding mountains, said to look like a sleeping woman.^[17]

Tourism

Some of the caves in the hill area have been developed as a tourist attraction. There is a viewpoint at Mae Chan District, from where the "sleeping lady" can best be observed.^[18] Local tour guides joke that Doi Nang Non would be "the highest mountain in the world", if only the supposed lady would get up and stand on her feet.^{[citation needed]}

Location

Tham Luang–Khun Nam Nang Non National Park in overview PARO 15 (Chiang Rai)

National park   1 Doi Luang   2 Doi Phu Nang   3 Khun Chae   4 Lam Nam Kok   5 Mae Puem   6 Phu Chi Fa   7 Phu Sang   8 Tham Luang– Khun Nam Nang Non       Wildlife sanctuary   9 Doi Pha Chang 10 Wiang Lo   Non-hunting area 11 Chiang Saen 12 Doi Insi 13 Don Sila 14 Khun Nam Yom 15 Mae Chan 16 Mae Tho 17 Nong Bong Khai 18 Nong Leng Sai 19 Thap Phaya Lo 20 Wiang Chiang Rung 21 Wiang Thoeng   Forest park 22 Doi Hua Mae Kham 23 Huai Nam Chang 24 Huai Sai Man 25 Namtok Huai Mae Sak 26 Namtok Huai Tat Thong 27 Namtok Khun Nam Yab 28 Namtok Mae Salong 29 Namtok Nam Min 30 Namtok Si Chomphu 31 Namtok Tat Khwan 32 Namtok Tat Sairung 33 Namtok Tat Sawan 34 Namtok Wang Than Thong 35 Phaya Phiphak 36 Rong Kham Luang 37 San Pha Phaya Phrai 38 Tham Pha Lae

See also

• Doi Tung
• Tham Luang cave rescue
• List of mountains in Thailand
• List of caves
• Speleology

Notes

References

External links

• Why cave search is so tricky, Bangkok Post
• The Sleeping Lady Legend (waybacked)
• Chiang Rai Tourism (in Thai)
• Two of the Doi Nang Non legends Archived 2018-07-10 at the Wayback Machine (in Thai)