Khao Sok National Park is a rainforest with a great biodiversity of plants and animals, it is the most popular mainland national park destination in South Thailand. The park is one of few national parks in the country easily accessible by public transportation, an obvious stop for many tourists while travelling between Phuket and Ko Samui. The nearest towns are Surat Thani, Krabi, Ao Nang (Railay Beach), Phuket, Khao Lak, Ko Lanta and Koh Samui.
The main attractions of Khao Sok are Cheow Lan Lake, wildlife, iconic limestone hills, waterfalls, raft houses spread over the lake, trails, caves and rivers.
Khao Sok was established as Thailand's 22nd national park in 1980 by The Royal Forest Department. It covers 739 kmÂČ land area of Amphoe Phanom District and Ban Takhun District in Surat Thani province and includes the Cheow Lan Reservoir dammed by the Ratchaprapha Dam.
The park is part of the Khlong Saeng - Khao Sok Forest Complex that incorporates 12 protected sites covering an area of 5,316 kmÂČ, including some offshore islands in the Andaman Sea. The mountains in the park are along the Phuket Range which extends from Phuket Island further north to Ranong Province.
The rainy season is between late April and early December with most rainfall from May to October, the dry season is January to March. Average temperature ranges from 22°C to 36°C all year around.
Wildlife
Many of Thailand's exciting mammal species can be found in the park; elephants, gaurs, sambar deer, sun bears, Asian black bears, Malayan tapirs, crab-eating macaques, gibbons, Indochinese serows, mouse-deers, porcupines, marbled cats, wild boars, Asiatic wild dogs.
There are nearly 400 bird species reported in Khao Sok National Park. Some of the rare bird species recorded in the park are; chestnut-necklaced partridges, sooty-capped babblers, chestnut-capped thrushes, rufous-chested flycatchers, black magpie, cinnamon-rumped trogon, Malaysian crested fireback, crested partridge, giant pitta. Helmeted hornbills used to be quite common in the park, but due to poaching, it is now a very rare sighting. With a bit of effort, great argus can be seen at the Khlong Saeng tributary of Khao Sok Lake.
So far over 90 reptile species reported from the park, there are likely many more. Of the rare reptile species Burmese peacock softshells (Nilssonia formosa), enigmatic leaf turtles (Cyclemys enigmatica), brown wolf snakes (Lycodon effraenis), Malayan smooth snake (Liopeltis tricolor), Kopstein's bronzeback (Dendrelaphis kopsteini) are all found in the park. There are three pit viper species found in the park; Sabah pit viper (Trimeresurus sabahi fucatus), Wagler's palm pit viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri) and Malayan pit viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma).
The park is more famous for the symbolic flower of Surat Thani Province, the huge rafflesia flower (Rafflesia kerrii). The flower can be up to 70-80 cm in diameter, blooming only around February.
For a long list of species found in the park, please visit the âWildlifeâ section of Khao Sok National Park.
Visiting
Before getting to the park, it's good to know that there are two equally popular areas 67 km apart. One is the area around the headquarters generally referred to as Khao Sok or Khao Sok Village, where it is possible to walk a number of trails, visit waterfalls and join various activities in the river. The other hotspot is Khao Sok Lake (aka Cheow Lan Lake) east of the headquarters, best known for it's raft houses, caves, viewpoints, trails, limestone hills etc.
The best way to get an understanding about the whereabouts of the points of interest in the park is to open the interactive map from this page. The map can be zoomed in/out and panned, it also displays other relevant places all over the country.
Getting to Khao Sok Village
Khao Sok Village is easily accessible by public transportation. Buses and minivans from the nearby towns stop by on the main road junction to Khao Sok, 1.8 km from the...
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