Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TAK PROVINCE
Tak is a vast, mountainous province whose proximity to Myanmar has resulted in a com-
plex history and unique cultural mix. There are Hmong, Musoe (Lahu), Lisu and White and
Red Karen settlements throughout the west and north, while western Tak in particular has
always been in distinct contrast with other parts of Thailand because of strong Karen and
Burmese cultural influences. Today, the Thailand-Myanmar border districts of Mae Ramat,
Tha Song Yang and Mae Sot are dotted with refugee camps, an outcome of years of fight-
ing between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese government.
Perhaps due its relative isolation, much of Tak still remains quite wild. The linked Um
Phang Wildlife Sanctuary, Thung Yai Naresuan National Park, Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife
Sanctuary and Khlong Lan and Mae Wong National Parks together form one Thailand's
largest wildlife corridors and one of the largest intact natural forests in Southeast Asia.
Yet with the opening of Myanmar's first land border at Mae Sot/Myawaddy in 2013, Tak
is no longer isolated, and it remains to be seen how its new role as an increasingly import-
ant crossroads will change the province.
