Try the bird’s nest soup at the Viking caves!

One of the most famous places to do a little Phi Phi Island sightseeing is on the island of Phi Phi Lei. Here is the famous Viking Caves, a 3.2 square kilometers place where the extremely expensive swallow-nests were once collected. Contradictory to its name, there have never been Vikings, but the cave has numerous paintings of vessels, resembling Viking longboats and that’s where this attraction draws its name from.

The Viking Cave has tour boats queuing up through the height of the day to pay an entrance fee, though they have started to levy the entrance fee for the caves (much to the relief of the tourists). There are many interesting points inside the cave. Stay at the landing point where the clarity of the water in this area is very good. You could have clarity to great depths. At the entrance there is the precious swift’s nests, used to make Bird’s Nest Soup, a Chinese delicacy for which the Chinese aficionados will pay handsomely.

You may also notice ropes and bits of bamboo scaffolding on the cliffs outside. These are used by local villagers to climb metres up into the dark recesses of the cave to retrieve these nests, occasionally falling to their death in the process!

Viking cave may be temporarily closed at bird-nest harvesting season. In fact, the best season to visit the Vikings is from February to April. A bids’ nest company has the concession for the cave, and they must be asked if you want to visit the cave. You can rent a longtail-boat for a reasonable price or join a one-day or half-day tour to Phi Phi Lae island which stops at “Viking Cave”.