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Hilltop lake viewpoint
The
first time I came to Khao Yai Natl. Park was with a group of
students, when I was teaching at |
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| Park vegetation |
Vientiane Int. School in Laos. As we
stayed there a few days to study the eco-system, we were able to see
a fair number of rarer species like gibbons, hornbills or even a big porcupine.
We attended a talk on leeches given by a specialist ranger. We hiked on a long trail with another park ranger to study many vegetal species in the rainforest.
The
second time I came here, I did not go back to the park but stayed in
its surrounding valley. This is when I discovered an amazing
development called 'Tuscana'
after the architecture of Tuscany.
This
time, I came back to cool off from the Bangkok heat and explore more
of the surroundings having Pak Chong
as a base.
So
here is the story of this trip.
Khao
Yai National Park.
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| Map of Khao Yai Park |
The
Park is only a 2-hour's drive northeast of Bangkok. It lies on the
southern tip of the Thai province of Isan. It is the second largest
park in Thailand and has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Natural Site
since 2005. The park spreads on Sankamphaeng mountain range.
At this time of year, the climate is cool as it is on an altitude comprised between 1,000 meters to 1,300 meters in altitude.
The
park offers a great variety of flora & fauna that makes it an
interesting place to come and enjoy. The museum at the
Visitor's Center on the hilltop is worth seeing before actually go
and see the park.
Flora:
the landscape is made of two major areas – tropical forests &
grasslands. The rainforest is divided into 4 sub-areas according to
its vegetation. It actually covers 80% of the park area. The
grasslands provide lakes and salt-licks for the bigger species of
animals like deer, elephants or gaur ('Indian bison' -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaur
).
Fauna:
Macaques are everywhere in the park. There are also two kinds
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| Deer resting |
of
deer, the larger Sambal deer or the smaller barking deer. They can
be quite friendly and seem not to be scared away by humans. There also exists a rarer species called the Mouse deer. Besides the animals
already cited, there are several varieties of wild cats, wild pigs,
dholes ('wild dogs' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole),
occasional tigers, pangolins ('scaly anteater' –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin),
civets, two varieties of bear, and
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| Monitor lizard |
many squirrels. Among the
reptiles, there are snakes and many kinds of lizards including big
monitor lizards, and even some Siamese crocodiles (watch for 'Beware of the
crocodile' signs). Among the many species of birds, the hornbills
are the most spectacular ones (there are two kinds). Bats and silver pheasants live there too along with a great number of insects.
 |
| Haew Suwat Waterfall |
The
park also offers great views over the surrounding landscape. There are a few small lakes and many waterfalls or rivers. A major
attraction is Haew
Suwat Waterfall,
which was made famous in the movie 'The
Beach'
starring the Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
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| Sunset lights over a hilltop lake |
Khao
Yai Country Hill Resort.
The
country road that goes from Pak Chong to the southern part of the
mountain range is particularly scenic.
This
is where I found this lovely hill resort on top of a small hill
amidst a wonderful garden with a huge variety of orchids.
There are two related inputs to this article: one about a charming boutique hotel called '
Hotel des Artists' (already published) and another new review, which will be called '
The Switzerland of Isan'.
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| Tree-trunk reflection |
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| Me on a suspended bridge |
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| Two deer on a river bank |
Christian Sorand
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