90ft below the ground, the first light of the day shines on a different world.

Sometimes when you see a picture of somewhere, you know you just have to go and see it for yourself. This was exactly the case for me with Khao Luang – an enormous cave temple just outside the sleepy town of Phetchaburi in central Thailand. As I stood and watched a Buddhist nun dressed in white walking across a huge ray of light shining down from above, I knew I had made the right decision to visit.

A mother and daughter look up towards the opening as pilgrims pray in the background.

This is what they will have seen. When you look up, the light is blinding.

The limestone cave is full of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, as well as 180 Buddha statues scattered around the cave’s three main chambers – including this 16ft Reclining Buddha.

A Buddhist nun dressed in white walks from one cavern to another at Khao Luang.

 Ikimasho!

The cave is located about 5km north of Phetchaburi, in the Khao Luang mountains. There is no public transport to this area, but the amazing 2N Guesthouse I was staying at provided me with a bike, so I cycled. You could easily negotiate a motorbike up there for about 150 baht / £3 return from town. Entrance to the cave is free. Just a warning that the lead up to the mountain is notorious for wild monkeys: they aren’t afraid of humans and they are pretty aggressive. I must have walked past about 50 of them who were just walking down the hill, so make sure you’ve got no food in your bag that could attract even more.