With greater than 150 protected areas, Thailand’s nationwide parks showcase this nation’s unimaginable biodiversity and breathtaking landscapes. Every park affords a singular glimpse into wealthy ecosystems of Thailand, from the karst peaks, turquoise lakes, and rainforests of Khao Sok Nationwide Park to the mountainous terrain of Doi Inthanon, house to the best peak within the nation. Thailand is huge, stretching virtually 1,600km (995 mi) from finish to finish, and speckled all through its various panorama are a plethora of nationwide parks.
Khao Sok Nationwide Park
Topping most travellers’ lists of Thai nationwide parks is Khao Sok Nationwide Park in southern Thailand. Most guests spend a few nights right here sleeping in raft homes on Cheow Lan Lake, the place you’ll be able to dive into the turquoise waters simply a few steps out of your mattress. Khao Sok affords a fantastic mix of historic rainforests and spectacular limestone cliffs, and it is house to a implausible array of wildlife, together with tapirs, gibbons, and the uncommon Malayan solar bear, making it a nature lover’s wildest dream. Khao Sok is definitely accessible by public transportation and a perfect stopping level between Phuket and the islands of Koh Lanta and Koh Samui.
See it for your self on: Journeys: Iconic Thailand
Khao Yai Nationwide Park
Established in 1962, Khao Yai was Thailand’s first nationwide park, and it is the nation’s third-largest, spanning greater than 2,000 sq km (1,243 sq mi). It’s lower than three hours from Bangkok and is a part of an enormous UNESCO-protected forest that stretches to the border with Cambodia. Although you’ll be able to see elephants in a number of locations in Thailand, Khao Yai is one the place you may simply stumble upon one. Macaques, otters, and jackals are additionally on this nationwide park’s wildlife-spotting checklist. Most mountaineering trails must be walked with a information as a result of this nationwide park is a wild jungle the place it is easy to get misplaced! One other must-visit location within the park is Haew Suwat Waterfall, made well-known in Leonardo DiCaprio’s film The Seashore. You possibly can take after Leo with a dive from the highest into the cooling waters.
Doi Inthanon Nationwide Park
Residence to Thailand’s highest peak, this nationwide park is nicknamed the “Roof of Thailand” and is most simply accessed from vibrant Chiang Mai, with its fascinating Outdated Metropolis and dense focus of beautiful Buddhist temples. Doi Inthanon follows in its footsteps, with its exceptional Twin Pagodas, matching temples which might be devoted to the king and queen of Thailand. These stunning pagodas, the terraces, and manicured gardens that encompass them are finest visited at dawn if you happen to can deal with the early wake-up name. Top-of-the-line trails to observe is the Kew Mae Pan nature path, a two-hour loop that should be walked with a neighborhood Hmong information, who offers cultural perception into the realm.
Erawan Nationwide Park
Named for the three-headed elephant of Hindu mythology, Erawan Nationwide Park is legendary for its cascading waterfalls. The park’s seven-tiered waterfalls are nothing in need of mesmerizing: beautiful emerald inexperienced swimming pools good for cooling off within the Thai humidity. Three ranges of the falls are simply accessible, whereas the opposite 4 contain a barely strenuous however rewarding 2km hike. The additional you climb, the less swimmers you encounter and the extra doubtless you might be to have one of many swimming pools all to your self. Pool 4 has a pure rock slide, which is an adrenaline-pumping option to cool off out of your stroll via the jungle.
See it for your self on: Bangkok to Chiang Mai Categorical
Ao Phang Nga Nationwide Park
Between the blissful seashores of Phuket and the fishing city of Krabi, Ao Phang Nga Nationwide Park is dotted with the enduring limestone karst islands that you just see in lots of Instagram posts from Thailand. Most well-known is James Bond Island, so known as due to its look in The Man With the Golden Gun. This nationwide park is legendary for its conservation efforts and is house to the most important expanse of native mangrove forest remaining in Thailand. The easiest way to discover this nationwide park is by boat: a meandering longtail across the karst peaks, a kayak, or a canoe, which grant you entry into the weaving cave methods and mangroves with the assistance of a information.
Khao Sam Roi Yot Nationwide Park
An attractive mix of mountains, wetlands, and wildlife, Khao Sam Roi Yot Nationwide Park is usually neglected by guests, however don’t be certainly one of them! The spotlight of this sprawling nationwide park is Phraya Nakhon Cave, a fantastic house the place streams of daylight filter via the pure open roof each morning. The cave has two chambers, every with its personal jungle ecosystem. Mountain climbing via these caves is a should, as is a take a look at the fascinating Khuha Kharuehat Pavilion, constructed by King Rama V.
You may also cruise across the waterways, indulging in views of the encompassing mountains (Khao Sam Roi Yot means Three Hundred Mountain Peaks), or spend hours recognizing birds among the many greenery. This park isn’t accessible by public transport, so discover a driver in Hua Hin or Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Ang Thong Nationwide Park
Ang Thong Nationwide Park is made up of 42 islands within the Gulf of Thailand, only a brief distance from the island beauties on many backpackers’ bucket lists. The one option to entry this unimaginable space is on a day tour from Koh Samui or Koh Phangan, and also you’re handled to epic snorkelling websites, crystal-clear waters for kayaking, rides in a conventional longtail boat, and the chance to camp in a single day on one of many tiny islands, the one sounds the lapping of waves towards the shore.
See it for your self on: Cambodia & The Thai Islands – East Coast
Sirinat Nationwide Park
One among Thailand’s smallest nationwide parks, the 90km-long (56 mi) Sirinat Nationwide Park is a stretch of coast that may simply be visited in a day from Phuket. It boasts snow-white sandy seashores, coral reef clusters, and watercolour sunsets. At Mai Khao Seashore, you’ll be able to sunbathe whereas watching planes land.
Kaeng Krachan Nationwide Park
Rolling forested hills, peaceable rivers, and wondrous Thailand wildlife: that’s Kaeng Krachan, the nation’s largest nationwide park, in a nutshell. This large nationwide park is among the finest locations for birdwatching in Thailand, because of the overlapping biozones that present the habitat for greater than 400 chook species. It’s a wonderland for different wildlife, too, as one of many nation’s best-preserved habitats. It’s potential to see leopards, cloud leopards, tapirs, and elephants at Kaeng Krachan Nationwide Park, and the pleasant macaques are your welcoming committee. At the very least three tigers reside throughout the park’s bounds, although you’d be extremely fortunate to catch a glimpse of 1 in its large 3,000-sq-km (1,864 sq mi) expanse.
Tarutao Nationwide Park
The southernmost nationwide park on this checklist, Tarutao Nationwide Park is on the island of Ko Tarutao, and it is the right place to go to if you wish to get off the crushed monitor. This nationwide park has unimaginable underwater sights for scuba divers to see, and you’ll set up dive boats from the island of Koh Lipe. Tarutao additionally has a swath of rainforest teeming with wildlife, in addition to a darker historical past. The island as soon as held political prisoners captive, and a number of other buildings and a small museum inform this story.
Kui Buri Nationwide Park
Should you’re determined to put eyes on elephants whereas in Thailand however wish to keep away from unethical vacationer practices, Kui Buri is the place for you. An estimated 300 wild elephants roam free on this nationwide park, which travellers can see on devoted safari drives. Sightings are virtually assured! You may also spot gaurs right here, wild cattle native to Southeast Asia which might be greater than bison. Kui Buri is barely 72km (45 mi) west of Khao Sam Roi Yot Nationwide Park, and it’s potential to go to each in sooner or later.
Mu Ko Surin Nationwide Park
Mu Ko Surin Nationwide Park, a part of the Surin Islands, is an escape-from-it-all spot famed for its white-sand seashores and among the world’s finest scuba diving websites. Giant pelagic life is in all places, from manta rays to whale sharks, in addition to barracuda, whitetip reef sharks, and pipefish. Richelieu Rock is broadly thought of the very best dive web site in the entire of Thailand, with an impressive limestone pinnacle that acts as a playground for mantis shrimps, lobsters, octopi, pipefish, vibrant nudibranchs, mating cuttlefish, and big groupers.
