Khao Sok National Park - Thailand's Hidden Gem
Introduction
I have a love-hate relationship with watching YouTube videos of an area before we arrive. On one hand, it can provide some gems in terms of locations you know you’re going to want to visit. But on the other hand, you’ve now seen it in full 4K HD on a YouTuber's drone. This turned out to be a particularly sore subject on this very birthday weekend trip as mine was partially ingested by a stray Thailand beach hound with a penchant for munching on expansive flying objects.
I digress, that story is for another day. Thanks to these particular YouTubers we stumbled across Khao Sok National Park, and we really have a lot to thank them for. How this wasn’t on my radar before this now, considering this is my fourth or fifth trip to these shores, is bordering on criminal.
The Story of Khao Sok
Khao Sok National Park is a breathtaking location stretching across 739 square kilometres with huge limestone mountains shooting straight up in the air, deep valleys, a breathtaking aquamarine lake, caves, and the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world. In fact, and perhaps most shocking, the park boasts a rainforest that is older and more diverse than the Amazon. Not to mention it is home to gibbons, macaques, Asian elephants, leopards, plus over 300 bird species.
Southern Thailand has a number of wonderful national parks, Khao Sok is bordered by three other parks creating a spectacular array of biodiversity within the region. The park itself became a National Park in 1980.
In an interesting twist of fate, a group of students who had become communist insurgents evaded the government by setting up a stronghold in Khao Sok, which in doing so protected the area from loggers, miners, and hunters. At the time the rest of Thailand was undergoing massive deforestation.
The area was sculpted by the same tectonic shift that created the Himalayan mountains giving the area the famous limestone or ‘karst’ formations, the tallest one being an impressive 960m in height.
The Cheow Larn Lake within the park owes its creation to the Rajjapabha Dam which means ‘Light of the Kingdom’. The building process began in 1982 and took an impressive five years to complete, earmarked for the purpose of electricity generation, irrigation, and flood control. And although it takes in around 70,000 tourists annually and is regularly compared to the Guilin, one of the geographical wonders of China. You wouldn’t notice these impressive numbers from the serenity of the surroundings.
Tour Options
Before you arrive, plan how many days you want to visit. The most popular option is the day tour which I’ll go into more detail about later. In short, you book a private boat tour of the lake which runs for about five hours and takes you out to the three main most ‘Insta-gramable’ spots on a classic Thailand long tail boat.
The alternative option is the 2-night, 1-day tour if you have more time for an overnight stay on Cheow Larn Lake. You’ll stay on floating bungalows and witness several sunset and sunrise tours around the lake. Meals are all taken care of, and you’ll have more time to take the kayaks out for a spin in your own time. Most include an exciting cave tour also.
On foot within the National Park, there are many hiking trails that take you to the beautiful viewpoints around the park, or deep inside the limestone caverns. The accessible waterfalls can only be found along the trails from the headquarters in Khao Sok and at a couple of spots not too far off the main 401 roads to the south of the park.
The most impressive caves can be found using longtail boats. One natural wonder that eluded us on our trip is the amazing rafflesia, the largest flower in the world. Otherwise known as the ‘Corpse flower’ it only still exists in a few spots around the world. There are three species that grow in Khao Sok. It looks like a giant red bowl lined with spotted petals. They extrude a strong smell that is similar to rotting meat. I became obsessed with these after seeing them in a David Attenborough series. It’s the official flower of the Surat Thani province, where Khao Sok is located. Unfortunately, they are becoming increasingly rare due to habitat loss. Reach out to Khao Sok Tours who have a tour to visit the Rafflesia rather than going it alone. It’s easy to get lost by taking a wrong turn in the park. You can arrange tours through the headquarters of the park. This company also offers a rainforest experience tour.
You might see advertisements about seeing tigers while you’re in Khao Sok. While there have been tigers in the area, and there may be some deep inside hard-to-reach areas, none have been seen for decades. So take some of the advertising with a pinch of salt. However, there are wildlife tours to see gibbons, long-tailed macaques, and the occasional deer that might cross your path.
Getting There
We found renting a car the best option from Phuket for around $50 per day. The trip is around three to four hours by car and the roads are in reasonable condition. The rental company we used was Orange Car Phuket, and the service was great. On the requested day the company promptly dropped off the car, all arranged through WhatsApp and payment was sent using Wise (formerly TransferWise), so no international transfer fees were paid which was very handy.
From Bangkok, you can fly to Surat Thani followed by a short trip to the park. Or, for the more adventurous, there is a 14-hour train ride which costs between 420 B and 650B for a first-class cabin. So, make sure you pack plenty of treats for the long ride.
From the Gulf of Thailand, a ferry can drop you off at Don Sak Pier which is 40 miles east of Surat Thani. Speak to the travel agents on the islands who can arrange your whole trip for you.
Where We Stayed
After a semi perilous three hours drive weaving through massive palm oil trucks that run the arterial routes north, we arrived at the wonderful Bansuanphutarn accommodation on the outskirts of the National Park. Bansuanphutarn is off the beaten path and has a lovely home-style appeal. The location feels deep in nature with an outstanding view of the limestone mountains nearby, green surroundings as far as the eye can see, with a noise of a nearby river to add to the effect.
We checked into our bamboo cabin for the night, complete with a hammock and a stray dog laying on the porch. Absolute bliss. Also, it was the first time we’d had no aircon since arriving in Thailand. My tiny mind had convinced me I’d be lucky to make it through the night without it, so we’d need to drink a few more beers than usual in the restaurant to help send us off to sleep. However, I awoke to the birds tweeting away, calmness, and an epic breakfast provided by the lovely staff. Turns out I can live without the comfort of air conditioning.
After living in Phuket for the preceding months, my ears had been subject to the constant symphony of hooning mopeds. The quiet of staying in the jungle was a magical contrast. Plus, we were pretty much the only guests that checked in that day, so we almost had the place to ourselves. Aside from the stray dogs. It is Thailand after all.
The Day Tour Details
The next day we drove to the National Park HQ main parking area at the edge of the Cheow Larn Lake. We paid the fees which are all listed below, hired our skipper for the afternoon, and off we went. Tip: get yourself a private boat, you’ll want to be in your own little world.
The first thing you notice is the water colour is emerald, which momentarily distracts you from the towering limestone pinnacles rising out of the water, surrounded by centuries-old rainforests as far as the eye can see. It is jaw-dropping. How I was not aware of this place after several visits to Thailand in the past is a mystery.
As mentioned, the tour stops at various points around the lake, the skipper turns the engine off and you just drift in your own little world in awe of the landscape. They understand the Instagram lure, so they’ll give you plenty of time to get that perfect shot.
As part of the day tour, you’ll head to one of the floating pontoons where the cabins are located for overnight stays. You can swim in the warm water and just relax floating in your rubber ring feeling slightly smug that you found this little gem and you have it all to yourself. You can also take kayaks for a spin if you so wish. The depth is well over 20 meters off the pontoon so you can throw yourself in at will.
After relaxing for a while on the pontoon we jumped back onto the boat. We could see in the distance what looked like a huge storm bearing down in our direction. I looked across at the skipper of our boat. He remained relaxed and calm, no doubt we’d go around it I thought to myself. We then headed back to the docking area, bearing directly into the eye of the storm and it was complete comedy for the next 30 mins. The rain was hitting us from every direction, including below, we wrapped several life jackets around our heads trying to protect ourselves. When you’re traveling at full speed into massive raindrops, they feel like a thousand pea shooters firing tiny bullets off your skull. I started wondering if we’d have to bail the water out soon as it accumulated around our feet. All the while our skipper still looked calm, eyes squinted into the rain with a determined look on his face. This man had a solid poker face. We returned to HQ following a perilous run from the steel jetty floating on the lake to the car park with a raging lightning storm above our heads. I retained a massive smile on my face as we ran to safety. Happy with the experience and wet to the bone.
Should be near the top of your 2023 trip list.
