Saturday, January 16, 2010

Tin Mine Hills - ดีบุกขุดแร่

Tin mining used to be big industry here but now it has been mostly replaced with the tourism and rubber indstries. The mining left scars on the landscape which can be seen all around Kathu and some other parts of the island. Many of the golf courses have taken advantage of this and so have we.



There are some great routes through the surrouding Kathu hills but this is the one I tend to visit most frequently because of the climbing and views of Kathu town. To get to the base of the hill you wil need to turn onto the housing estate before and right next to the herritage near tesco lotus. There is a swimming pool / golf school at the end. Once you reach the entrance to that, look right and then follow that road up to the top of the hill.

End of the Road


You now have two options, go right to th end of the road and walk up the easy way or climb straight up the rocks to the top. There is a giant ridge at the very top which is made out of very loose rocks which makes it precarious to climb but fun to slide down.

Towards the Ridge


Away from the Ridge

Kathu District
 
You can cut round to the right of this ridge to get around it the easiest. There is an old shooting range and a new housing development at the bottom of the other side. Go past the shooting range up the valley for some intense jungle walks. You can follow the land boundary markers through some lush jungle and en route there is a gant Tapoc tree which I hope to climb later. 

The Other Side





Afterwards you will probably be hot and sweaty... so it's kinda nice that there is a pool at the bottom of the hill. I teach swimming there sometimes. 40 Baht entrance fee for the day and more food if you so incline.

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