South East Asian Trips

Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park

Situated in the Phitsanulok Province, 377 Km north if Bangkok, this national park has several slabs of smooth, rounded cobbles which are moulded from sandstone by centuries of wind and rain. The inaccessible Mon Daeng Waterfall crashes down the 32 steps it has chiselled into the mountainside over many hundreds of years. Communist rebels used this area as their hideaway in the 1970's. popular activities here include trekking to view the numerous orchids and lichens on the wooded slopes and deep ravines.

Doi Inthanon National Park

The highest peak in the country at 2,565 metres, Doi Inthanon is also a national park forming the southerly and of the Shan mountain range and the source of several rivers. Located in Chiang Mai province, the park has flora and fauna not seen in other parts of Thailand. Two Hill Tribes, the Karen and Hmong have settled here. Trekking is recommended to observe the fauna and flora. Some 364 different species of birds can be found here, also butterflies. There are camping grounds and the best time to visit is between November and February.

Thung Salaeng Luang National Park

Another national park of open fields surrounded by dry oak forests and stately pines. Thung means "field" in Thai, though the fields in this national park lying in the Phetchabun Range are neither fully cultivated nor totally wild. Kaeng Sopha waterfall, one of three spectacular staircase waterfalls in Thung Salaeng Luang, thunders down a series of steps before reaching the calm Savannah forest below. The meadows at Non Son and Nang Phaya are fully of interesting flora and fauna. This pride of the Phetchabun Province offers visitors the opportunity of trekking as well as biking.

Mae Surin National Park

A National park in Mae Hong Son Province on the Doi Mae Ukor, Mae Surin National Park is blessed with waterfalls and a vast field of wild sunflowers (bua thong) which bloom in November. You can visit a Hill Tribe in Khun Yuam district. However getting to this national is in itself a challenge as Mae Hong Son Province is over 900 km form Bangkok and can be reached by air and then by road to Khun Yuam district and on a further 90 km to Doi Mae Ukor.

Khao Yai National Park

Covering Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri and Sra Kaeo provinces, this is the largest north-eastern forest in Thailand. The park's mountains are watersheds for several waterfalls. It is one of the best refuges in Thailand for animals and birds sin the wild and remains the most likely spot to see wild tiger or elephant. Visitors can avail themselves with trekking, bird and butterfly watching, animal spotting (elephants and tiger), raft riding and camping.

Kaeng Krachan National Park

This is the largest, and one of the most dramatic, national parks in Thailand. It is still largely unexplored. The park covers the watershed of the Phetchaburi river which is on the Tanao Sri Mountain Range with the peak at Panoen Tung mountain. On the way to Tho Thip waterfall, an ocean of fog is visible alongside the mountain range. Phetchaburi river is full of rapids and there is an abundance of wildlife. It is a paradise for bird and butterfly watchers.

Sai Yok National Park

It encompasses the famous Kwae Noi river of Kanchanaburi province. The park is a forest with caves on the riverbank. The smallest mammal in the world, Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat, weighing just 2 grams, is found here. Sai Yok is also the name of the most famous waterfall in the country. Activities here include house-boat riding on the Kwae Noi river, cave exploring, mountain biking, elephant riding and canoeing.

Phu Kradueng National Park

Phu Kradueng is the best known mesa mountain in the region and is itself part of a national park. It is a combination of pine forest and meadow with wild orchids around the waterfalls and brooks of the plateau. It is a rich habitat for wildlife, rare birds and a rare turtle called Pulu (turtle with tail). This is an ideal location to study flora and wild orchids with camping at the end of the rainy season and beginning of the cool season. The area is however closed to public from May to the beginning of October.

Khao Luang National Park

Khao Luang is the highest mountain peak in the south which stretches across the middle of the peninsula in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. It is the only mountain in the peninsula high enough to support montana birds. Trekking to the peak of Khao Luang to study wild orchids and trying to spot the Green-tailed Sun-bird popular among bird watchers and botanists, while others prefer visiting the waterfalls and the Kiriwong village to study their way of life.

Songkhla Lake & Thale Noi

A national park with a lake for water birds, it is located in between the Songkhla and Phatthalung provinces. This is the largest lake in the country full of marine plants, especially water lilies and migratory birds. Visitors here can enjoy cruising the lake bird watching and observing plant life and visiting local villages.

Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest

Located in Narathiwat province, this is the largest forest within a swamp and a habitat for rare species of wildlife and over 500 species of plants, 200 types of birds and other small marine animals. Here's an excellent opportunity to study nature by observing birds and flora. The Nature Study and Research Centre has built a 1.5 km bridge across the swamp to make access easier. The best time to visit is between February and April.

Thale Ban National Park

Straddling 196 sq km of rugged jungle on the Malaysian border, Thale Ban national park in Satun Province is popular with Thai visitors from nearby Hat Yai and Songkhla. The highest peak is the 749m Khao Chin. Many other granite crags of 700m also stand over the area, their lower slopes covered with dense, triple-tiered rain forest. The terrain is criss-crossed by mountain streams. An intricate network of trails lead to the Rani, Ton Pilo and Chingrit waterfalls, and to he Ton Din and Pu Yu caves. To the west, the park extends all the way to the deserted beach by the Andaman Sea.

Khao Sok National Park

The last bastion of southern Thailand's big game, Khao Sok in western Surat Thani is home to tigers, clouded leopards, elephants, serow, gaur and Malayan sun-bears. The 640 sq km park is connected to Klong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary, making up the largest tract of virgin forest in the Southern Isthmus. Here, three trails lead to scenic caves and waterfalls. Kaeng Kho cave, a gallery of stalactite and stalagmite, houses a large colony of bats.