Viking Cave
Viking Cave is one of the main attractions of Thailand’s Phi Phi Lei island. The picturesque cave is located in a limestone cliff, a few meters from the sea. It got its name because of the ancient drawings of ships, which are very similar to Viking sea vessels. The locals treat the Viking cave as a sacred place.
General Information
During sightseeing cruises to the Phi Phi Phi Islands, boats approach the cave overhanging the sea and tourists can admire the beautiful stone overhangs. Travelers are not allowed inside the Viking cave, so they cannot see the rock paintings. Most of the surviving drawings are marine-themed, but there are also images of elephants in the cave.
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The cave vaults are favored by swallows, or rather salangana swifts. The birds make their nests from twigs with the help of saliva, and it takes 30 to 45 days. Such nests are very valuable in Asian cooking. They are considered a real delicacy, so they are very, very expensive.
.Locals, wanting to earn money, have adapted to collect swallow’s nests. To do this, they climb under high cave vaults on bound bamboo poles, scaffolding and rope ladders. This is a risky trade, but the labor of the collectors is generously paid by the owners of Chinese restaurants. Swifts start nesting in February, but the first two attempts are unsuccessful because of the pickers. Only on the third time do the birds manage to lay eggs and raise offspring.
.Swallow Nest Soup
These days, dishes from swallow’s nests are popular not only in Southeast Asian countries. You can taste them in Paris, London and New York. In Hong Kong, the price of a portion of soup cooked from swallow’s nests ranges from $30 to $100. The cost of 1 kg of white nests starts from $2,000, and 1 kg of red nests – from $10,000. At the same time, the weight of one dried nest does not exceed 10 g.
.According to an old Chinese legend, this soup first appeared in the XIII century, thanks to a young emperor from the Jin dynasty. This happened when Genghis Khan’s troops invaded the territory of China. According to legend, the miraculous soup gave the Chinese troops strength, and they managed to hold out.
.In the Viking cave, where many swifts live, the air is saturated with the “aroma” of guano. And since people also live here all the time, trash and empty plastic containers accumulate near the cave’s entrance.
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How to get there
The Viking Cave is located on Phi Phi Phi Lei Island, which is 2 kilometers from Phi Phi Phi Don, the largest island in the archipelago. Most tourists get here with excursions from Phuket and Lanta islands, as well as from Krabi province.
