Khao Sok
Nature hikes in Khao Sok
Khao Sok is one of Thailand's best-known national parks, and makes a convenient stop-off for family itineraries calling at Thailand's southern beach destinations.
The park’s centrepiece is a reservoir, Ratchaphrapa or Chiew Lan, one of the most magnificent bodies of fresh water in Southeast Asia. The emerald water glistens between 1,000-metre high limestone mountains. You can take a boat tour lasting a few hours or a full day, or you can spend a night at one of 17 raft-house lodgings. They all come with kayaks.
West of the reservoir are caves and waterfalls, and a trail guide is required to access most of them. This area is also where you'll find the rafflesia kerrii, the fire-red, so-called dinosaur flower that smells rank and is one of the world's largest flowers when it blooms in the dry season. Though large mammals are rare, Khao Sok is full of birds and reptiles.
Most people will visit as part of an organised tour that includes accommodation, transfers in/out of the park, and guided nature hikes.