Kaeng Krachan National Park

An incredible escape into nature and easily one of Thailand’s most rewarding national parks. As the country’s largest national park, it offers lush rainforest, winding mountain roads, waterfalls, and stunning viewpoints that make every moment feel like a true adventure. And a UNESCO World Heritage site!

Nature in its glory...but recommended for walkers and trekkers, birdwatchers and early risers. The access roads to the peak of the reserve for wonderful scenic views are not outstanding in quality and access is by very bumpy pickup trucks.

This national park is absolutely fantastic for wildlife. It is not so great for humans who visit in the hope of seeing some wildlife! Kaeng Krachan is Thailand's largest national park. Of the 2,915 square kilometres which the park covers there is just one 36km road for visitors to use to 'explore' the park. 18km of this 36km road is inaccessible to visitors who don't have a 4x4 wheel drive with high clearance. In fact, only 15km of the road is really suitable for non 4x4 wheel drive vehicles because the other 3km beyond the first campsite is unpaved and has 3 places where you need to ford a river. On the 15km of road which is accessible to most vehicles, there are no pull-outs or viewpoints. The dense jungle comes right up to the road for the majority of it meaning you can't see much. It would be wonderful if one or two viewpoints could be created to give visitors views over the incredible landscape. There are a few trails, but most require you to hire a ranger to take you along them as it's apparently too dangerous not to (in terms of getting lost). There is a small, dilapidated visitors centre at the first campsite and a cafe where you can get a meal. The rangers here can arrange to hire a driver with a 4x4 vehicle to take you beyond here to the campsite at the end of the 36km road (21km from this point). The cost was 1600 baht to do this. We visited the park 2 days in a row, spending over 7 hours a day on that 18km road (as we managed to get across the fording points to the weir), watching, listening, waiting. We did see some wildlife, but given the number of species which live in the park we basically saw nothing. If there'd been an observation tower, a bird hide, some more accessible trails we may have been more lucky. Don't get me wrong - this place is incredible if you're an insect, bird, reptile, amphibian, mammal, etc. This makes it a perfect haven. But, as a human, don't be disappointed if you don't see much. This is even the case if you've paid a small fortune to visit with a guide who plays bird and animal calls at loud volumes to try to find some wildlife from the road for their clients to see. We didn't do this, but saw it in action. At one point we thought we heard gibbons, only to find that the calls were from a guides loud speaker. Sadly, no actual gibbons answered! We've visited many of Thailand's national parks. This one is the best for the animals, worst for the visitors.