Get away from the hectic cities and enjoy yourself in the parks and gardens around the world.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park

Generally steep mountains. The park borders with Laos in the northern part, in Chaiburi dstrict. The southern part of the park runs into Petchabun province. The mountain range includes the peaks of Phu Pangma, Phyu Lomloh, Phu Hin Rong Kla and Phu Mahn Yow, the tallest in the park at 1,800 meters above sea level. The second tallest in the park is Phu Lomloh at 1,664 meters. The park is the source of headwaters of many streams including Huay Muad Kon and Huay Luang Yai.

Phu Hin Rong Kla National ParkThe climate is similar to that of Phu Kra Dung and Phu Luang. Because of its high altitude, the park is cool all year round, especially in the cool season (November to January) when temperatures can occasionally drop to near freezing point.

The park has mixed deciduous, dry dipterocarp, dry evergreen, and hill evergreen forests. The mixed deciduous forest tends to be spacious and open. Tree species commonly found include Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Shorea obtusa, Shorea siamensis and Dipterocarpus tuberculatus.

The dry evergreen forest has better and moister soil, particularly in higher elevations and along the streams. Species include Dipterocarpus alatus, Hopea ferrea, Hopea oborata, Anisoptera cochinchinensis, Dalbergia oliveri, Chukrasia venlatina, bamboo, and Brahm among others.

Hill evergreen forest is seen at higher elevations of 1,000 meters and up. Species tend to be soft woods. Important species include Dacrydium elatum, Betula alnoides, Eugenia cumini, Anneslea fragrans Podocarpus imbricatus and Pinus merksii P. kasiya.

The sandy flat areas on ridge tops support Sphagnum recuryum, algae and perennial plants such as Burmannia disticha and Osbeckia chinensis. In addition, may orchid species can be found in rocky areas, including Lycopodium phlegmaria and rhododendron. These flowers bloom between the rainy and cool seasons, in November.

It is believed that the park areas, in the past, had a large diversity of wildlife. During the years of fighting between the communists and government forces a lot of forest area were disturbed and much of the wildlife was gone. Remaining wildlife includes tigers, leopards, Asiatic Black Bears, wild boar, fox, monkeys, leopard cats, wild hare and many bird species such as boves barbets, common Flameback, Asian Barred Owlet, Brown Hawk-Owl, jungle fowl, bulbuls, and swallows.

Highlights and tourist attractions

Communist headquarters: Three km from the park's headquarters are located the former office buildings from which the communists insurgents carried out their administrative functions. There are a cafeteria, cloth shop, meeting place, jail and intelligence center.

Villages: There are villages with 40 to 50 houses each. The houses are small, having dirt floors and wooden tiles roofs. Each house has a dug out area used to hide during the air raids.

Hospital: Two km from the headquarters was a hospital equipped to treat the sick and injured. Doctors could perform a variety of minor surgeries. China provided training, technical assistance, and intensive courses. Among the remaining artifacts were Chines medical texts.

Lan Hin Tak: 300 meters to the west of the Thai army headquarters (Than Pacharin) is Lan Hin Tak (broken rock field). Along the path, growing in rock crevices, are various plant species including mosses, ferns and ground orchids. Peering into the depth of crevices can be eerie. Some crevices are narrow enough to jump across. Loud echoing of running water below can be heard in several of them. The crevices could have been used by the communists as hiding places.

Lan Hin Pum: About 4 km from the park's headquarters, near the cliffs, is a field of nodulated stone, Whose lumps are roughly equal in size. It is believed that this formation resulted from physical and chemical erosion. Patients from the hospital suffering from fever would used the area as a rest spot, as a cool breeze blows over the area almost continuously.

Flag-ple cliff: A steep cliff overlooking a valley to the west. The communists used this cliff to fly their red flag after each victory over the government forces.

Romglao and Paradon waterfalls: Romglao waterfall is located 5 km from the park's headquarters. As you approach the road to the School of Military Politics, the path to the waterfall is on the left and leads about 1 km off the road to the waterfall. The forest in this area is in a healthy condition with many large trees. A side trail leads to Paradon waterfall, which is a downstream of Romglao waterfall.

Sripachrin waterfall: This medium-sized waterfall is located about 600 meters off the road, near Huay Namsai village.

Ganglad and Tadfa waterfalls: Set at the foot of Phu Hin Rong Kla, Ganglad is located about 2 km from Huay Namsai. At the base of the fall is a small hydro-electric generator. If you climb 3 or 4 km further up the mountain, you will reach Tadfa waterfall (also known as Tan Gawsahng waterfall), an impressive, towering waterfall.

In addition to these spots there are many other interesting places there.

Source : Trek Thailand

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Monday, February 27, 2006

Mae Wa National Park

Mae Wa National Park located in Mae Wa, Thoenburi , Lomrat, Mae Pa , Mae Mok, and Wiangmok sub-districts, Thoen district, Phrabatwangtuang sub-district, Mae Phrik district, Lampang province, and Wanchan sub-district, Samngao district, Maesalit sub-district, Ban Tak district, Tak province. It consists of complicatedly high mountains, productive forest which are the habitat of a great number of animals in many kinds, and wonderful places to visit such as Mae Wa Waterfall which has water flow all the year round and been well known by many people. Having convenient way to visit and locating only 19 km. from Thoen District Administration Office, Mae Wa National Park is about 587 square kilometers and has been declared a national park since November 17, 2000.

Mae Wa National Park

Mae Wa National Park address

Mu 2, Mae Wa Sub-district, Thoen, Lampang, Thailand 52230

By Car; Use national road number 1 (Asia Highway Road) from Lampang Province to Tak Province and turn left at a byroad between kilometer stone number 498 – 499 for 10 kilometers. In addition, the north part of the surveyed forest is close to national road number 1048 which goes from Thoen District, Lampang Province to Thungsaliam District, Sukhothai Province.

Source : National Park

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Friday, February 24, 2006

Pha Taem National Park

Pha Taem National Park is the largest prehistoric rock painting site in Thailand. It was relatively dated to around 3,000 - 4,000 years ago. The Pha Taem cliff lies along side of the Mekong River in Khong Jiam District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. The 340 square kilometers Pha Taem National Park have variety of interesting scenes. The Mekhong river which serves as a long natural border between Pha Taem National Park and Loas, provides some excellent views.

Pha Taem National ParkThere are 4 groups of impressive paintings altogether more than 300 images which mainly described a daily life of prehistoric human, most of them reflected hunting and fishing activities.

The general topography of Pha Taem National Park are undulating plains and highlands, and is part of the Phannom Dongrak mountain range. Rock pillars and rock formations are characteristics of Pha Taem National Park. Sandstone is the most common rock type found. The Mekhong river is the ends of the many streams of Pha Taem National Park.

Pha Taem National Park has a monsoon climate with three seasons: rainy season (June - October), cool season (October to February) and the dry and hot season (February - June).

Pha Taem National Park is covered by Dipterocarp forest with Shorea obtusa, Shorea siamensis, Dipterocarpus obtusifollus and some beautiful flowers. There are also some dry evergreen forests near the streams.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Phu Pha Yon national park

Phu Pha Yon national park covers 829 square km. of land straddling 3 provinces in northeast of Thailand; Sakon Nakorn, Nakorn Phanom and Mukdahan. The Phu Pha Yon national park was formerly called Huay Huat; in August 28, 2000 the name was changed to Phu Pha Yon after an outstanding cliff with ancient paintings on it.

Phu Pha Yon national parkThe Phu Pha Yon national park is part of the Phu Phan mountain range in Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan provinces, with elevations up to 600 meters above sea level. The hills in the Phu Pha Yon national park are sources of water for several river streams including Huai Sai Noi and Huai Bang Sai. Huay Huat reservoir in the park is a popular spot for the local people. Around the reservoir are very beautifully shaped rock formations. Highlight beauty of the place is the purple flower called Dohk Du Si Ta which blooms in the rainy season.

May - October is the rainy season with August being the wettest month. Cool season is November - January with average minimum temperature being 16º C. February - May is hot season when the average maximum temperature could be 32 - 36º C.

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Monday, February 20, 2006

The Erawan National Park

The Erawan National Park was established in June 1975 as Thailand's 12th national park. It covers an area of 550 square km. of high mountains and valleys. The eastern mountains rise to nearly thousand meters with shear limestone cliffs. The mountains protect the area from the eastern monsoon resulting in a low average rainfall. In summer the weather is hot, but it is cool between November and February. The main feature of the park is the amazing 7 step Erawan waterfall.

The Erawan National ParkBeautiful deciduous forest covers about 80 % of the park with Pterocorpus macrocarpus, Afzelia xylocarpa, Hopea odorata and Spondias pinnata being some of the dominant tree species. There are also dry evergreen, dipterocarp and bamboo forest. Wildlife surveys of reptiles, mammals, birds and amphibians have been carried out. If you are lucky you may see the elephants, Siamese hare, gibbons, flying squirrels, eagles, king cobras, white-eyes or pythons. Fish, crabs and insect are abundant in many steams.

Admission fee: 200 Baht/person (1$ about 40 Baht)

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Friday, February 17, 2006

Similan islands national park

Similan islands national park was established in 1982 by covering 128 square km. on Andaman sea. In 1998 Tachi Island(the northernmost island in the group) was added making the total area 140 square km. It is in Khura-Buri district of Phang Nga province, Thailand.

Similan in Malay language means number 9. It's the number of islands in the group. After including another 2 more islands in the north the marine park now contains 11 islands.

Similan islands national parkSimilan islands national park are rich in flora and fauna. The islands are combination of several forest types; convergence of evergreen forest and coral reef. The Similan islands national park bio diversity ranges from the world's largest whale shark to rare birds such as Pigeon, Nicobar and Pied Imperial Pigeon, 22 species of reptiles, as well as 27 species of mammals, and at least 4 species of amphibians. These animals have been living in these nature long before the first human came.

You will super relax and be part of nature since park and beach, when come to Similan islands national park.....

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Thursday, February 16, 2006

Thaleban National Park

Thaleban national park occupies a 196 square kilometers place in Satun province in the southern tip of Thailand, close to Malaysia. Most parts of the park is made up of limestone mountains with many many caves. Rainforests grow on both lowland and higher elevations. Mangrove forests are found in the south-west area close to the Andaman sea.

Thaleban National ParkStudy over several years recorded 406 wildlife species including 46 mammals, 289 bird species, 8 hornbills, 40 reptiles, and 20 amphibious animals.

There are a few "Sa Kai" (a local savage) people still living the forest in the park. These people are very close to the forest, and their lifestyle goes in harmony with the forest system. They do not practice agriculture but support the life is by hunting. They relocate from place to place, and love lonely life. However civilization and deforestation have been changing their way of living.

Thaleban National Park Climate

Southwest monsoon comes between May to October, that brings lot of rainfalls. The driest months are December to April.

The park's headquarters is located in a valley floor between two limestone mountains and alongside a 32 hectare lake shaped like a figure of eight. From this beautiful spot there are several trails leading to the park's major scenic places. One worth visiting spot is the 720 meters summit of Kin mountain where hikers can pitch a camp

Thaleban National Park accommodations and facilities

There are 6 bungalows for 6 to 8 people each, and a dormitory style accommodation for up to 40 people. The guide can be arranged at the headquarters. Please contact at phone number: 074-797 073.

How to get there

The Thaleban National Park is 37 km from Satun and 90 km from Had Yai.

Source : Trek Thailand

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Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Doi Suthep - Pui National Park

This Doi Suthep - Pui National Park majestic forest park covers a mountain that is situated a few miles from Chiang Mai, Thailand's second largest city. Despite its proximity to an urban center, Doi Suthep is is a wonderful place to encounter wildlife. Doi Suthep - Pui National Park also houses a royal palace, 2 Hmong hill tribe villages, and a 600 years old Buddhist monastery, Wat Prathat.

The lush evergreen forest can be found on the eastern slope of Doi Suthep and close to Wat Prathat. This distinct zone; which begins at about 1000 meters and ascends another 400, harbors a great number of lowland bird species. Above about 1,400 meters the vegetation dries up considerably, though there are rich, sporadic clusters of dense forest in ravines and shaded areas. In these isolated pockets of vegetation can be spotted more of Doi Suthep's many birds.

Let's relax on Doi Suthep - Pui National Park for fresh you day up!

Trip in Doi Suthep - Pui National Park

(1/2 to 1 Day. Round trip to summit 46 km. Go to market on Maninopharat Road at the Chang Phuak Gate intersection to catch a "2 rows" bus to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. Or go to the red minibuses on Huay Kaew Road by the front gate of Chiang Mai University. City Bus 3 terminates at the Huay Kaew waterfall.)

A trip up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is a pilgrimage for Thais who visit Chiang Mai. Beyond the temple the King's mountain retreat at Phuping and the Hmong village of Ban Doi Pui (Ban Maew) also attract many tourists.

The road to Doi Suthep - Pui National Park that snakes up the mountain has been widened as far as the royal palace to handle the increasingly heavy flow of visitors up the mountain.

Doi Suthep - Pui National Park offers some pleasant walking that is easy as long as you stay on the wide tracks. The upper part of the mountain will interest nature lovers. The car parks at the main sights have lots of stalls selling souvenirs, drinks and food.

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Monday, February 13, 2006

Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Many Bangkokian are often looking for a place to relax that's not too far from the city. Khao Yai National Park, Thailand is always a favourite for those who are truly in need of a place where they can really get back to nature. And the main reason is its relatively close proximity to the city.

Khao Yai National Park, ThailandSince being declared Thailand's first national park in 1962, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand has been a very popular attraction. People go there for various outdoor activities ranging from education, wildlife watching, trekking, camping, bird watching, mountain biking and even river rafting.

Access to Khao Yai National Park, Thailand by road is easy and as you approach the park both sides of the road are lined with restaurants, resorts, guesthouses, mini-marts, lodges and golf courses. It may be that there are too many people coming here.

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Friday, February 10, 2006

Lumpini Park

The first Public Park in Bangkok!!!

Lumpini Parkexplaination from yahoo travel "Lumpini Park is a popular oasis, named after Buddha's birthplace. The green expanse provides a relaxing and relatively peaceful retreat from the heat and noise of the rest of the city. The best time to arrive is just after sunrise, when hordes of fitness fanatics can be spotted jogging, doing aerobics, practising tai chi, yoga or even ballroom dancing! You can hire a paddle boat, eat at one of the reasonably priced outdoor restaurants, or just take it easy under a shady tree. Admission is free."

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Thursday, February 09, 2006

Santiphap Park, Bangkok

Santiphap mean Peace, this Bangkok park outstanding by set to be forest garden in the city center that make green and added by spring with sculpture in same swamp, the sculpture is pigeon carried the 5 olives. And Santiphap Park is order to have only less construction in the park and make atmosphere to calm down from outside and cut the disturb by tree around and can reduce the polution. Just walk pass the gate you will touch the different...and the name Santiphap Park board was duplicate signature style from Buddhadasa; the monk that Thai very respect.
Santiphap Park, BangkokSantiphap Park Location :
Near Victory Monument, between Rachavithee road and Rangnam road, Bangkok
Area : 20.80 Rais
Working Hours : 5.00 Am - 21.00 Pm daily
How to get there
Bus : 12 14 17 24 36 38 61 63 69 74 77 92 204
Aircondition Bus : 14 140
Service Record : Weekday about 2,000-3,000, weekend about 3,000-4,000

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Phu Kradung National Park

Located in Loei province, the north eastern of Thailand

Phu Kradung national park is one of Thailand's most romantic spots. The 1360 meters height and shape like bell that make it's call Phu Kradung, Phu is the way Thai call the high and Kradung in Thai it's mean bell.

Phu Kradung national park is largely covered with seasonal tropical rain forest and ever green forests. The 60 square km. plateau is a savanna of oak, pines, beech, etc. including very beautiful waterfall.

Phu Kradung National ParkThere are some mammals including elephant and barking deer, and many bird species in the Phu Kradung national park.

The region receives heaviest rain in October and there is almost no rain during December to February. Phu Kradung national park is closed from June to August because of intense pressure on the environment by the visitors. Most popular months are October to January when Phu Kradung national park can be crowded on weekends.

Tents and porters can be arranged at the Phu Kradung national park offices located at the foot of the mountain and at the top.

It is a 9 km distance from the base of the mountain to Phu Kradung national park head quarters at the top. The final 4 km is a walk on the plateau to reach to Phu Kradung national park head quarters and the camping ground.

Villagers have set up food and drink stalls along the climb. The trek takes 3-6 hrs .On the plateau visitors have 50 km of marked trails to cliffs, waterfalls and meadows. Expedition into the deep forest where large animals exist should be accompanied by a guide provided by Phu Kradung national park office.

*For carry boy who will take care your luggage from foot of mountain to top, he will charge you 10 baht per 1 kl.

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