Doi Nang Non (, ; '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 ().
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.Doi Nang Non (ดอยนางนอน) - Location 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.
Caves There are a number of caves and underground water courses in the range area.
Tham Luang Nang Non (; 'Great Cave of the Sleeping Lady') is a semi-dry limestone cave in the Doi Nang Non range. It is long, and has many deep recesses, narrow passages and tunnels winding under hundreds of meters of limestone strata. There are numerous stalactites and stalagmites in some parts of the system. 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. Khun Nam Nang Non (; '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.ถ้ำหลวง-ขุนน้ำนางนอน (วน.) (Tham Luang - Khun Nam Nang Non)
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."Flooding complicates cave search for Thai soccer team" Washington Post, 26 June 2018 Owing to heavy rain which further flooded the cave entrance, searches were periodically interrupted."Search Suspended for Boys in Flooded Cave in Thailand" The Weather Channel, 26 June 2018 Thai NAVY divers soon got help from American, Australian, British, and Chinese divers, military members, and emergency personnel.
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. They were found by British volunteer divers around 400 metres away from a spot nicknamed "Pattaya Beach", an elevated mound in the cave. Food and medical supplies were delivered but a three-hour-long journey, continued rains and mountainous terrain above the cave delayed their escape. On 8 July at 19:00 four of the boys had been rescued. By 10 July at 19:00, all of the boys and their coach had been rescued from the cave.
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's 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.
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.Doi Nang Non View Point 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.
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 Chang10 Wiang Lo Non-hunting area11 Chiang Saen12 Doi Insi13 Don Sila14 Khun Nam Yom15 Mae Chan16 Mae Tho17 Nong Bong Khai18 Nong Leng Sai19 Thap Phaya Lo20 Wiang Chiang Rung21 Wiang Thoeng Forest park22 Doi Hua Mae Kham23 Huai Nam Chang24 Huai Sai Man25 Namtok Huai Mae Sak26 Namtok Huai Tat Thong27 Namtok Khun Nam Yab28 Namtok Mae Salong29 Namtok Nam Min30 Namtok Si Chomphu31 Namtok Tat Khwan32 Namtok Tat Sairung33 Namtok Tat Sawan34 Namtok Wang Than Thong35 Phaya Phiphak36 Rong Kham Luang37 San Pha Phaya Phrai38 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 Two of the Doi Nang Non legends