---
node: spot_krabi_wat_tham_suea_krabi
type: spot
slug: wat_tham_suea_krabi
destination: dest_krabi
title: "Tiger Cave Temple"
lead: "Wat Tham Suea is a forest monastery outside Krabi town whose summit shrine is reached by 1,237 steps up a limestone tower. The climb takes most people an hour and the steps are steep enough to need hands in places."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_krabi_wat_tham_suea_krabi.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016-04-08_Tiger_Cave_Temple_52.jpg"
image_author: "Maksym Kozlenko"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

Monks have meditated in the caves at the base since the 1970s, and the temple takes its name from a tiger said to have lived in one of them; paw-shaped hollows in the rock are shown as evidence. At the top are a gilded Buddha, a footprint shrine and a 360-degree view over the mangroves to the sea. The monastery below has a forest walk through old trees that most visitors skip entirely.

## Highlights

Start before eight; after nine the steps are in full sun and the climb becomes genuinely hard. Take a litre of water — there is none for sale at the top. Macaques on the lower steps take bags and bottles, so carry nothing loose in your hands.