Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK
( 08 6092 6529; adult/child 400/200B, car 50B)
Cool and lush, Khao Yai National Park is an easy
escape into the primordial jungle. The 2168-sq-km park, part of a Unesco World Heritage
site, spans five forest types, from rainforest to monsoon, and is the primary residence of,
among many others, shy tigers and elephants, noisy gibbons, colourful tropical birds and
countless audible, yet invisible, insects. Khao Yai is a major birding destination with large
flocks of hornbills and several migrators, including the flycatcher from Europe. Caves in
the park are the preferred resting place for wrinkle-lipped bats. In the grasslands, batik-
printed butterflies dissect flowers with their surgical tongues.
The park has several accessible trails for self-tours, but birders or animal trackers should
consider hiring a jungle guide to increase their appreciation of the environment and to spot
more than the tree-swinging gibbons and blood-sucking leeches (the rainy season is the
worst time for the latter). In total, there are 12 maintained trails criss-crossing the entire
park; not ideal if you want to walk end to end. Access to transport is another reason why a
tour might be more convenient, although Thai visitors with cars are usually happy to pick
up pedestrians.
A two-hour walk from the
visitor centre
( 08 6092 6529; 8am-9pm)
leads to the
Nong Pak
Chee Observation Tower
, which is a good early-morning spot for seeing insect-feeding birds,
occasional thirsty elephants and sambar deer; make reservations at the visitor centre. It's
important to understand that spotting the park's reclusive tigers and elephants is considered
a bonus, with most people happy just to admire the frothy waterfalls that drain the peaks of
Big Mountain. The park's centrepiece is
Nam Tok Haew Suwat
, a 25m-high cascade that puts
on a thundering show in the rainy season.
Nam Tok Haew Narok
is its larger cousin with three
pooling tiers and a towering 150m drop.
NATIONAL PARK
PALIO
(
www.palio-khaoyai.com
; Km 17 Th Thanarat; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm Sat & Sun)
We can't imagine a
more jarring contrast to one of Asia's premier protected natural areas than this wacky open-
air shopping centre. Modelled after a Tuscan village, Palio is indicative of what the Khao
Yai area has increasingly become over the last decade: a weekend playground for upper-
middle-class Thais. Inside, you'll find shops, cafes, bars and hordes of Thais taking photos
of each other with digital SLRs. There's plenty to eat, and on weekends, live music until
9pm.
SHOPPING CENTRE
