Cross the Mae Fah Luang Bridge (located just northwest of the city centre) to the northern side of Mae Nam Kok and you’ll come to a turn-off for both Tham Tu Pu and the Buddha Cave. Neither attraction is particularly amazing on its own, but the surrounding country is beautiful and makes an ideal destination for a lazy bike or motorcycle ride.
Follow the road for 1km, then turn off onto a dirt path for 200m to the base of a limestone cliff, where there is a steep set of stairs leading to a main chamber holding a dusty Buddha statue; this is Tham Tu Pu.
Continue along the same road for 3km more (the sign says ‘Buddha Images Cave’) and you’ll reach Buddha Cave, a cavern by Mae Nam Kok containing a tiny but active Buddhist temple, a lone monk and numerous cats. The temple was one of several destinations on a visit to the region by King Rama V in the early 20th century.