North of Muang Kham rises an imposing wall of abrupt wooded ridges and exposed limestone rock-faces. Carved into one such cliffside is Tham Piu, a cave where villagers sought protection from American bombers during the Indochina war. Hundreds died here in November 1968 when a US fighter plane fired a rocket into the cave and the site still holds major emotional resonance for the Laotian people. Today the setting is pretty but the small museum in the car park adds little information to give meaning to a visit and its collection of photos and bomb fragments aren't directly related to the Tham Piu incident. The cave, ten minutes' climb via an obvious stairway, still shows signs of smoke damage while the floor is littered by small, unsophisticated memorial cairns. The cave mouth is wide enough to allow natural light into the main cavern but a torch (flashlight) would be useful to venture a little deeper.
The site is 2.6km up a degraded asphalt lane that heads west from the main road at a turning signed 'Tham Piew', around 4km north of Muang Kham.
