Khao Yai National Park is located about 2 1/2 hours north of Bangkok and is one of Thailand’s best national parks. Established in 1962, it was Thailand’s first national park and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I had always heard great things about the park but, despite living in Thailand for a few years, had never managed to get there. When I played tour guide a few weeks ago to a friend from Boston, I used that as my excuse to finally make it to there. I can’t believe it took me so long. The park is truly amazing- beautiful, empty, filled with lush flora and fauna, and even a few wild Elephants.
Arriving at the guesthouse in the afternoon, we were just in time to make the the half day tour. This tour brought you to a few caves and a natural spring. The first cave was home to over 2,000 bats and used to be a Buddhist monastery before the local community to build the monks a proper temple. However, the monks still come down at night to meditate. Our guide seemed to be an expert in everything- showing us all the inscets, talking about the life cycle of bats, and even giving us a soil lesson on the composition of the dirt and how the bat guano can be used to make explosives. It was all quite fascinating. He knew quite a bit and spoke excellent English, something very rare on tours in Thailand. Usually, they are just ushers, walking you from place to place, discussing very little. He knew it all and was able to explain the history and zoology of not only this cave but of the whole region itself.
The second cave featured over 2 million bats and we arrived just in time to see them head out for their nightly feed. Watching it was like watching something out of the discovery channel- a seemingly endless stream of bats flying out in pursuit of their evening meal as the sun set below the horizon. I was on the Discovery Channel…or at least Animal Planet. Our guide, who seemed to know cameras better than any of us, was able to catch some of it on tape for us through the telescope:
The following day was spent back in the park hiking through the jungle and trying to spot wildlife. Our day began with bird watching followed by a five hour trek through the jungle. We spot a lot of birds throughout the day, including the Great Hornbill, whose wing span is over 2 meters wide. Monkeys hovered on the side of the road and gibbons swung through the trees. It was nice to be in area and on the trails with few other people. Much of the hiking in Thailand is done in the north and you frequently run into other big groups on the trails. The monsoon season kicked in about halfway through our trek, pouring down an ocean of water on us as we trekked back to the car. As a souvenir, a leech attached itself to my hand, though it was quickly burnt off. They don’t hurt but it takes a long time for the wound to heal. The rain abated just as we hit the last few waterfalls, including the one “Leonardo Di Caprio” jumped off of in the movie, The Beach.
Now, normally I never use Lonely Planet for accommodation recommendations. However, this time, I did (as did everyone else at the guest house). I must say, for once, Lonely Planet did not disappoint. Despite being in the LP for years, the Greenhouse Guesthouse had not suffered in quality. Usually, press in a Lonely Planet book means higher prices and poorer quality. However, this place offered cheap accommodation, excellent food, reasonably priced tours, and very knowledgeable tour guides. If you ever go to Khao Yai, this places comes with my highest recommendation. It is truly amazing place. The national park is also everything that people say it is. Despite being one of the biggest and well known parks n Thailand, there were few tourists there making for an enjoyable and peaceful experience.
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it’s a great place to see wildlife, a great place for a romantic getaway
Love the photo of the bats in the sky. Looks like a lovely place.
I want to go there.
The waterfall Leo DiCaprio jumped from in The Beach, is that the one pictured above?
Lucky the leech didn’t attach itself to more delicate parts!
there is this tree near a coffee plantation close by which is home to thousands of bats..when you take a look at the tree, you can hardly see the leaves..and once I heard that there was a gun shot somewhere and the bats suddenly started hovering..it almost looked like it had become night..unfortunately, i didnt have pictures
I want to see monkeys!
@erica: No, that’s a different waterfall.
@lakshmi: that would have been a great photo!
@laura: when you, we will see monkey’s…..matt can climb a tree and pretend if we don’t!
@quick: yes thank god!
Are you taking me there when I come visit?
These are amazing shots! Nice that you finally got to go. What time of the day was it when all those bats came flying out? Because it seems so bright in the video.
@new: I took them at sunset. I think the video is bright because I’m taking it through a telescope so it magnified the light a bit.
Sounds really good. Not expect natural park like this so close to Bangkok. Would try when I visit Bangkok next time.
Quality of tour guides vary, but luckily my Bangkok guide and Chiangmai trekking guide were great. The Chiangmai guide was ok for English, but really knows about jungle, trekking, rafting etc.
http://www.ourexplorer.com
local guides, local wisdom