A journey through the national parks of Thailand

With more than 50 national parks, the lush countryside of Thailand has a unique beauty found only in this part of the world. The warm climate and heavy monsoon rains allow flora and fauna to flourish and in turn produce an ideal environment for animals and insects to live.

If you think a trip to Thailand is all about bustling cities and tropical islands, then you just scratched the surface. By taking a trip out of town during your Thailand vacation, you will soon come across one of these beautiful national parks. These are just some of the best that you can discover during your trips to Thailand …

Khao yai

2,168 square kilometers

In 1961, this was the first officially recognized national park. Hidden deep within this beautiful park are a series of stunning waterfalls, one of which you may recognize in the movie, The Beach. The park is located just a few hours northwest of Bangkok in the Sankambeng mountain range and is well worth a visit during your trip to Thailand. The second largest park in Thailand, Khao Yai covers an area of ​​2,168 square kilometers. With over 50 hiking trails varying in varying levels of difficulty, Khao Yai is a great travel destination for those who want to include great hikes during their Thailand travel experience (and if you are lucky you may see a tiger). Maps of some of the easier routes can be found in the visitor center. The largest waterfall in the park, Haew Narok Waterfall, rises more than 150 meters from top to bottom. However, the one that most people come to see during their trips to Thailand is Haew Suwat Falls; the waterfall from the movie The Beach. It is only 8 km from the visitor center and if you want to visit this area during your holidays in Thailand, it is best to go in the middle of the week when there are fewer people.

Khao sok

793 square kilometers

The remote location of this national park (accessible only by road) has made it one of the best-preserved and most popular parks in Thailand. You can reach Khao Sok from Surat thani and Phuket; connecting well with many routes across the country. Therefore, it is a good intermediate point to make a stop during your trip to Thailand on the way to the southern islands. In the middle of this park, there is a huge lake with many small estuaries that rise and fall depending on the rains of the season. If the natural world is your cup of tea and something you’d like to include in your Thailand travel experience, you’ll be in your element here! You can take one of the jungle hikes to ride elephants, see monkeys in their natural habitat, and be surrounded by the calls of more than 200 species of birds. Taking a kayak on the lake is also possible, not to mention a great way to explore and would be a real highlight of your trip to Thailand. Due to the remote location of this park, it retains a certain unspoiled charm that makes it so special and a fantastic addition to your Thailand adventure.

Erawan National Park

550 square kilometers

Erawan National Park is most famous for the bridge over the River Kwai, which is surrounded by hills and dense jungle, and is definitely a must-see during your trip to Thailand. You can stay in floating cabins on the river or take a walk on the bridge. The surrounding area gives you a real sense of the difficult situation the POWs must have been through when they built the bridge, and the museums are a great WWII idea. From Bangkok, there are daily buses to Kanchanuburi province, making it easy to get there if your trip to Thailand is just an air visit. In addition to visiting this historic bridge, you should also include a trip to Erawan Falls in your Thailand vacation. The tours run regularly and can get quite busy at times, but once at the falls you can climb all 7 tires of this impressive waterfall and take a dip in each of the pools, a true highlight of! your trip to Thailand! Only the dedicated few will make it to the top (which you will have almost to yourself). Taking a dip in the azure blue water is a temptation that not many can resist, but be warned, there are little fish in the lower pools trying to give you a foot spa!

Doi Inthanon National Park

482 square kilometers

If you plan to go north on your Thailand vacation, Doi Inthanon National Park (or “Roof of Thailand”) is a park that you don’t always find in travel books. This is the highest national park in Thailand, reaching over 2,500 meters above sea level and is part of the Loi Lar mountain range that separates Thailand and Burma. If you do venture into this park during your Thailand vacation, be sure to take a jump, as temperatures during the dry season can often reach 5 degrees Celsius. At the lowest points to the east, several caves are formed from the limestone rock. As you make your way up the winding road to the top, you’ll be flanked by waterfalls, and due to the cooler climate, the plants look less like Thailand’s rainforests than the lower regions.

If you are thinking of making a camping spot during your trip to Thailand, it is very popular in this area and information on trail maps and camping sites can be found at the visitor center located at the 31 km sign.

The area was originally a royal favorite to escape the hot summers on the lower levels. King Inthawichayanon enjoyed this region so much that he had his ashes scattered here.

Please note that from June 1 to October 31 this park is closed to the public.

Ang Thong National Marine Park

250 square kilometers

Unlike the other parks in this section, Ang Thong National Marine Park is made up of 42 archipelago islands off the east coast north of Ko Samui. These sets of islands are habitable apart from one, Ko Paluay like the rest are protected. The islands are made up of a mix of rugged cliffs, deep caves and hidden lagoons and are famous for their natural beauty. There are also white sand beaches and shallow coral reefs that you can explore with your snorkel while on vacation in Thailand. Large animals do not live on these small islands, but a number of smaller animals, reptiles, and birds do live here, such as crab-eating monkeys, green turtles, and drongoes. Tours of Thailand run from Ko Samui and are strictly regulated by the authorities to keep the number limited. You can also visit the only inhabited island where sea gypsies live on this trip to Thailand.

With so many parks, it’s hard to know where to spend time when planning your trip to Thailand, but with this rough guide, you’ll have a great idea of ​​some of the best!