The road to Tham Erawan

Tham Erawan (Erawan Cave) is also called Tham Chang (Elephant's Cave), because the limstone tower it is located in looks like an kneeling elephant. Especially the entrance area is shaped like the forehead of an elephant. Actually Erawan is the name of the mythological elephant Airavata in the Thai language. It is typically depicted as an elephant with three heads. Such a statue can be found at the foot of the stair leading up to the cave.
Like most caves in Thailand, this is not a show cave in our western sense, it is actually a public place and a Buddhist temple. This starts at the entrance where a Buddha statue sits, which can be seen from far away. It is said to be the most important Buddha statue in Thailand. All over the cave various Buddha statues an other images are affixed. And there is a stalakmite which again resembles the elephant Erawan, inside the cave. So feel free to visit the cave and be respectful for the worshippers, like if you would visit a church in western countries.