Khao Yai National Park

Learn about Khao Yai National Park

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Lesson Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the Culture File: Thailand series at ThaiPod101.com. In this series, we’re exploring interesting facts that you must know about Thailand, Thai Culture and Thai People. I’m Michael, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 14: Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai National Park, or เขาใหญ่ in Thai, was Thailand’s first national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park spans four provinces, สระบุรี, นครราชสีมา, ปราจีนบุรี and นครนายก. Covering 2168 square kilometers, Khao Yai National Park houses a diverse ecosystem, including mixed deciduous forest, evergreen rain forest, semi-evergreen rain forest, hill evergreen forest, and savannah. Khao Yai also contains more than 3,000 plant species, 250 bird species, and 67 mammal species.

The weather in the park is nice and cool all year round, with an average temperature of 23 degrees. Though it may not sound like it, the rainy season, or in Thai ฤดูฝน, is actually the best time for a visit. This is because as the heavy rain continues to fall, it fills the park’s greenery with life, making it all the more beautiful.

Khao Yai National Park has many attractions for tourists to enjoy, such as Haew Narok Waterfall, or นำ้ตกเหวนรก, the park’s largest waterfall.

There are several activities for tourists to enjoy. Trekking trails run all around the park, ranging from easy to hard in difficulty, as short as one hour and as long as four days in length. Most trails require a guide to accompany trekkers, in the interest of safety. Kayaking and rafting are also great activities you can enjoy here. In Thai, Kayaking is called คายัค, and rafting is ล่องแพ. You can also enjoy hikes to see nocturnal wildlife, a four-day trek to see dinosaur footprints, and animal watching early in the morning from observation towers, called หอดูสัตว์หนองผักชี and มอสิงโต.

Visitors must pay an entrance fee before entering the Park—400 baht for adults, and 200 baht for children.

Visitors may come to the park for a day trip or spend a night there. There are lodges and tents available for rent at the visitor center, but visitors wanting to use them must make a reservation ahead of time.