Designated as a protected area in 1962, it was the Kingdom’s first national park. Nowadays, even though there are as many as 108 national parks across the country (with another 40 pending designation) Khao Yai is still by far one of the most popular.
The park is about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Bangkok, making it one of the closest to the capital. (The nearest national park for Bangkokians is Namtok Samlan, adjacent to Saraburi town, about 100km north of the capital.)
Khao Yai is part of the legendary Dong Phya Fai Forest and is made up of several types of natural habitat, from grasslands and deciduous forests to dry evergreen and hill evergreen forests.
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As a result, it’s home to over 340 species of birds, 216 species of butterflies (plus 5,000 species of other insects) and countless numbers of trees and plants, from gigantic emergents to tiny mosses. Not to mention fungi and other microscopic organisms.
Unlike most forests, in Khao Yai it’s pretty easy to see wild mammals. Along the road that cuts through the park, it’s not surprising to encounter deer, macaque, wild boar or elephants.
At Khao Phaeng Ma, on the northeastern rim of the park, visitors have a good chance of spotting herds of gaurs which frequent the area. The serow, the goat-antelope whose photo appears on this page, we stumbled upon at Khao Samoe Pun, a cliff not so far from the Noen Hom checkpoint. And in the interior of the park, some extremely lucky trekkers may even catch sight of a tiger! (Note: The luck rests with the traveller not the tiger, for deer and wild boar are this big cat’s preferred prey.)
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Khao Yai boasts more waterfalls than any other national park. Apart from well-known ones like Haew Narok, Haew Suwat, Pha Kluay Mai, Sarika and Nanang Rong, the park is also blessed with at least 20 other falls which can be reached via trekking trails scattered along the boundary of this vast (2,168km2) expanse which sprawls across no less than four provinces (Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima).
Apart from its plethora of waterfalls, Khao Yai also has several scenic sites (Khao Khieo and Khao Samoe Pun, for example) plus the Kaeng Hin Phoeng Rapids which is popular with whitewater-rafting enthusiasts.
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And - last but not least - together with Thap Lan National Park, its neighbour to the east, Khao Yai is included on Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites.
Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com (Horizons)