Viking Cave

Viking Cave on Koh Phi Phi Leh gets its name from the drawings on its walls that looked, to 19th-century visitors, like Scandinavian longships. The cave is actually famous for something else: swiftlet bird nests, which local villagers harvest on bamboo scaffolding under dangerous conditions to supply the bird's nest soup trade in Hong Kong and China. The cave is closed to entry — the nests are too valuable — so tours only view it from the boat, but the scale of the entrance and the intricate bamboo climbing rigs inside are worth the photo stop. Your guide will tell you the story of the nest harvesters, who rappel up the dark cave walls for a living.