Khao Yai is still the best national park in Thailand for regular visitors where it is relatively easy to see some impressive animals. is one of Thailand's best spots for wildlife watching. A visit offers a real chance to see Asian elephants in the wild. Besides elephants, the national park has healthy populations of gibbons, hornbills, and lots more.

The park covers an area of 2,168 km², including rain/evergreen forests and grasslands. 1,351 meters tall Khao Rom is the highest mountain within the park. The average altitude of the national park ranges from 400 to 1,000 meters above sea level.

From 1962 as Thailand's first national park, it is the third-largest national park in Thailand. Situated mainly in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Khao Yai extends into Prachinburi, Saraburi, and Nakhon Nayok provinces. The main checkpoint of the park is 180 km from Bangkok. The rainy season is from May to October with high humidity and with the most rainfall in September. The rest of the year is quite dry. November to February are the winter months with cooler weather and average temperatures of 22 °C during the day and down to 9-10 °C during the night.

Khao Yai is part of the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex; a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO, covering 5 protected areas from Khao Yai to the Cambodian border. The other protected areas are; Pang Sida National Park, Thap Lan National Park, Ta Phraya National Park, and Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Wildlife

Birds (Class: Aves) Total 437 species

Mammals (Class: Mammalia) Total 71 species

Turtles (Order: Testudines)

Lizards (Suborder: Saurina). Total 31 species

Snakes (Suborder: Serpentes) Total 54 species

Amphibians (Order: Anura) Total 26 species

Waterfalls

Khao Yai has many waterfalls, most of them easily accessible by car combined with a short trail, some need longer hiking with guide assistance.Ex. Haew Narok Waterfall, Haew Suwat Waterfall, Nang Rong and Sarika Waterfalls.

Khao Luk Chang Bat Cave

It is located 4.5 km out from the north gate of the national park. See the marker on the map for the location of a trail leading to the cave.

The best way for finding animals is via an experienced guide, by diving deeper into the jungles of Khao Yai. It is also possible to find some common animals along the roads or around the visitor center and campsites. While driving around, it is good to have the car windows open so that gibbon chattering can be heard, making it easy to locate them by calling. There are also a few saltlicks along the roads to attract bigger mammals such as elephants, gaurs (rare), deer, and boars. Northern pig-tailed macaques are almost impossible to miss if enough driving is done.

For planning reasons, it is good to know that the park is a very popular destination for both foreign and local tourists, it can be very busy on the weekends and extremely busy on longer holidays.

The main entrance is at the north of the park with the nearest town being Pak Chong in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. In good traffic, it takes around 2.5 hours to get to the Khao Yai entrance area.It is possible to get to certain spots north of Khao Yai with public transportation from Bangkok, but it could take up to 5-6 hours.

 

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