Five of the Best National Parks in Thailand

Five of the Best National Parks in Thailand

Posted by Mark Philip

Image by Indyman99 from wikimedia commons

Many people who visit Thailand and head for the cities are often unaware that out in the wilds there still exist elephants, tigers and leopards, along with bears, primates and a whole multitude of other exciting and rare animals, birds, reptiles and fauna.

And the best places in the country to get out into nature and catch glimpses of some of the wonderful wildlife are undoubtedly the national parks.

Much of the lush tropical rainforest regions across Thailand have thankfully stayed out of the reaches of any potentially encroaching ‘development’, meaning that there is still plenty of habitat for a pretty wide and diverse range of species.

There are a total of 127 national parks in Thailand, and with many of them now being registered world heritage sites and protected areas, they are home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, amidst which also roam, fly, crawl and slither dwindling populations of endangered species that you would otherwise be pressed to even consider catching a rare glimpse of.

Today we have endeavoured to bring you a small selection of some of these parks from various regions of Thailand, beginning with a couple that are the most well-known and most popular with both local and touring visitors.

So here we go with 5 of the best national parks in Thailand.

1. Khao Sok

Image by KOSIN SUKHUM from wikimedia commons

The relatively short distance between this Southern national park and some of Thailand’s top holiday island destinations Koh Samui and Phuket goes some way towards making it the single most popular in this region.

Established as Thailand’s 22nd national park in 1980 by The Royal Forest Department, Khao Sok covers almost 800 km² of land area in the Surat Thani province, and it also encompasses the Cheow Lan Reservoir.

Khao Sok is one of the few national parks in the country accessible by public transportation, and this region is best known for its lush forest terrain and lake scenarios. There are plenty of walking trails across the park which provide opportunities to see some of the wildlife.

Along with Cheow Lan Lake, visitors are also likely to be enthralled by limestone hills, waterfalls, rivers and caves.

Many of Thailand’s mammals live in the park, both well-known and otherwise, along with over 400 reported species of birds and somewhere in the region of 90 reptile species.

There are plenty of hiking trails around the headquarter areas and the lake. It is worthy of note that, as we the other parks, only a couple of these trails can be walked without a guide. There is good reason that visitors are not allowed to walk longer trails unaccompanied and hence break the national park rules — there is a very real chance of getting lost.

There are two main areas of the park, although they are almost 70 km apart. One is Khao Sok Village, which is all trails, waterfalls, and various other activities in or around the river. The other is Khao Sok Lake which is east of the headquarters and is best known for its limestone hills, caves, and viewpoints.

Khao Sok Village is easily accessible by public transportation, and is less than 2 hours from the Surat Thani Airport by road.

In terms of travelling time, the best way to get to the park is by taxi or car, with the cost being somewhere in the region of 1,500 Baht to Cheow Lan Lake or 1,800 Baht to Khao Sok village from Surat Thani’s airport, just to give some idea of location.

Most of the hotels in Khao Sok Village are within a couple of kilometres’ or less in terms of walking distance from the entrance.

Location: 62 Khlong Sok, Phanom District, Surat Thani 84250

Entrance: 300 Baht for adults and 150 Baht for children. (Thai citizens pay 40 Baht for adults and 20 Baht for children, comparatively.)

Hours: 8 am – 6 pm daily (all year round)

2. Khao Yai National Park

Image by Jenna Klein from wikimedia commons

Khao Yai is certainly the most popular national park in Thailand, and has been listed as a world heritage site for close on 2 decades now.

It is the third largest national park in Thailand, and is located primarily in the beginnings of the North-Eastern belt in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with the main entrance of the park being 180 km from Bangkok in the town of Pak Chong.

The wide open expanse of Khao Yai contains plenty of hiking trails, some impressive waterfalls, and more than its fair share of well-known Thai wildlife plus some lesser-known varieties.

It won’t be too difficult here to catch sight of deer, elephants, hornbills, gibbons, macaques, porcupines, and civets. Some of the usually less-sighted species that nevertheless have been reported are sun bears and Asian black bears, gaur, otters, and jackals.

On top of that there are a reported 445 bird species, along with over 85 varieties of interesting reptile species recorded.

The main activities and attractions in the park are hiking, wildlife watching, finding waterfalls, viewpoints and camping. It may be worth noting as well that the park is a rather popular with both foreign and local tourists, so it can get a bit chocka on weekends and longer holiday periods.

If you are travelling to this Thai national park from Bangkok, again the best bet is likely to be a private taxi or car (around 2500 baht). There are buses that run from the capital but the trip is likely to take somewhere in the region of 7 hours.

In terms of accommodation there is a plethora of hotels and guesthouses within close proximity of the park’s boundaries, along with two campsites the park (Lam Ta Khong and Pha Kluai Mai).

And if you don’t quite fancy a tent with all those creepy crawlies about, there are bungalows in two different spots inside the national park. These cost around 1000 Baht (2 people), 2,500 Baht (8 people) and 10,000 Baht (20 people).

Location: 114/1, 17 Moo Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 26000

Opening Hours: 6 am to 6 pm everyday (all year round)

Entrance Fee: 400 Baht for adults and 200 Baht for children (again Thai citizens pay 40 Baht and 20 Baht)

3. Kui Buri National Park

Image by by tontantrave from wikimedia commons

Here is a national park in Thailand located around 88 km from the popular southwestern Bangkokian holiday resort of Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand.

Established as a national park for more than 2 decades, it covers 969 km² in the scenic and largely undiscovered (to mainstream tourism) Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.

Largely regarded as the best wild elephant watching spot in Thailand, you are pretty sure to catch sight of some wild elephants any given day of the year in Kui Buri Park.

by KOSIN SUKHUM from wikimedia commons

Other wildlife common to the park include gaur, deer and jackals, and there are a few endangered species in this park such as the very rare banteng which is a critically endangered variety of cattle.

The national park is also home to one of the largest populations of gaur in the country estimated to be somewhere around 100. Kui Buri also has a rich fauna of birds with over 250 species reported from the park. 

The mountains in this Thai national park are are part of the Tenasserim Hills Range and extend across many other protected areas in Thailand and Myanmar. The forests contain both dry and moist evergreen forests.

There is only one main wildlife observation area in Kui Buri, at Huai Luek Ranger Station, (located about 16 km north of the headquarters) and this is open from 2 pm to 6 pm, daily. There isn’t generally much wildlife activity until the late afternoon though, so visitors are recommended to head for this spot around 3 pm onwards.

Unfortunately there is nothing by way of public transportation to get to the park, so private arrangements are necessary. It is possible to access the area by car or motorcycle, and from the directions of Hua Hin or Pran Buri the road is pretty good all the way in.

Location: 9 Hat Karm, Kui Buri District, Prachuap Kiri Khan 77150

Hours: 8 am-4.30 pm

Entrance: Slightly cheaper than some of the others, reportedly currently at 200 baht and 100 baht for adults and youngsters respectively.

4. Doi Inthanon National Park

by KOSIN SUKHUM from wikimedia commons

Heading up north to the home of the highest mountain in Thailand, we can find another one of the best national parks in north Thailand.

Also known as ‘The Roof of Thailand’, this Thai national park covers an area of 482 km² in the main northern province of Chiang Mai. The park actually forms part of the Himalayan mountain range with some points as high as 2,565 metres, and the the highest peak at Doi Inthanon Mountain being the highest mountain in Thailand.

This park is has its fair share of impressive waterfalls, viewpoints, trails and wildlife, and the high altitudes mean it is relatively cool all year round.

Unfortunately, due to almost continuous poaching, numbers of many of the bigger mammals like elephants, tigers, and gaurs that are prevalent in many of the other parks started to decline decades back.

There are apparently around 65 known mammals in the national park – half of which are reportedly bat species!

In terms of birds there are reportedly over 500 bird species in the park, which could be the highest number in Thailand, and there are currently over 50 known species of reptile known to be in the park.

Any visitor might want to note beforehand that the distances between the attractions are rather broad, meaning it’s not that easy to walk between them. Hence 2 or 4 wheels is the best option when considering covering the distance.

The park is actually accessible by public transportation, but getting there can be a bit of a challenge because of change-overs between songthaews, which are basically a type of passenger vehicle adapted from a pickup and a truck. It takes at least 3 hours to reach the park from Chiang Mai with this method of transportation, but it could turn out to be longer due to waiting.

Hence private taxi or car is the best bet once again and will usually cost somewhere in the region of 2500 baht.

Location: 119 Ban Luang, Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai 50270

Entrance Fees:  300 Baht for adults, children 150 Baht (50 Baht for local tourists and children 20 Baht).

Opening Times: 5:30 am to 6:30 pm every day.

5. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park

Image by Kittipong Khunnen from wikimedia commons

Here we have a rather picturesque Thai national park just south of Hua Hin.

The park has mountainous terrain and a good few caves, a nice viewpoint, and several beaches and campsites within its vicinity.

Khao Sam Roi Yot is not surprisingly something of a hot spot for bird enthusiasts due to the fact that it is home to a great diversity of bird species. Around 355 bird species have been recorded in the park, with half of them being migratory birds.

The forests on the mountains contain mammals of varying rareness by way of cats, monkeys, porcupines, and deer, and dolphins are also seen regularly off the coast.

The main visitor centre is located on the south side of the national park, which again is unfortunately not accessible by public transportation options. A private vehicle is therefore required, although it is relatively easy to arrange a day trip from Hua Hin to Khao Sam Roi Yot for around 2,000 Baht.

As with most of the bigger parks, the distances between attractions are too long to consider walking, and there is little shade along the roads in terms of trees. The good news if you do have wheels is that there is no closure time in terms of driving through the park as there are many villages situated within it.

Location: Sam Roi Yot District, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand

Entrance Fees: 200 Baht for adults and 100 Baht for children (Thais 40 Baht for adults and 20 Baht for children), although there is no entrance fee for driving through the park to get to the local villages and accommodation.

Hours: 8 am-4:30 pm every day (and all year round)