Considered by many as Vang Vieng’s most important cave, Tham Chang (or Jung) became the home for migrating people, who settled near the town’s southern Meuang Xong Village to grow vegetables. The locals stumbled into the cavern during the civil war while seeking refuge deep in the forest. Because its high location offered a perfect view of Vang Vieng, the entire village moved there to sit out the war.
Years later during the colonial era, the local returned to cultivating the nearby fields and would bathe in the cave’s basin, where the water was so cold they said it could freeze your legs to a firm stiffness. Then they adjusted the cave’s name to Tham Jung, which mean “unable to move”, leaving locals no choice but to “hang around”.
Note: Follow the river road south of Meuang Xong village. Pay the entrance fee at the gate of Vang Vieng Resort and cross the bridge over the Nam Xong to the steps leading up the cliff to Tham Chang.
