One of the great experiences in Thailand is called Khao Sok. When staying in this national park, only one question comes to mind; Why are there not more people and why is this area not world famous? You will probably not find the answer, so at the risk of revealing a big secret, here is our recommendation. Do not leave out Khao Sok, if heading south on your Thailand trip.
For many travelers, Khao Sok is located almost perfectly. If the trip starts in Bangkok and you are taking the night train down to Koh Samui, Koh Phangnan and Koh Tao, you simply get off the train in the morning in the city of Surat Thani. From here you will be driven to Khao Sok, then to the ferry and off to paradise.
There are several options for overnight stays in Khao Sok. Our Jungle House is one of our favorites as well as the Sunshine Tree House and Starlight Tree House. The last two being wooden houses built on stilts five meters above ground. The houses are connected to a wooden bridge, which in the center, has a door frame with a door attached to it, symbolically able to open and close. Like something out of a cartoon. The atmosphere and the view on the other hand, are like something out of an advertisement for Thailand. Below you can hear the rippling of the river and if you bend your head backwards, you can see the top of the mountain standing vertically over the river.
At times there is an inferno of sounds from cicadas, geckos and birds. They are pleasant natural sounds filling the jungle. Every now and then, green flashing lights are flying around the terrace. It is fireflies completing the experience.
All wooden houses are of course equipped with a mosquito net preventing unpleasant surprises during the night. They may not be the best and softest mattresses, but they are probably the only thing not perfect about the place. The wooden houses are equipped with a fan. They are clean and neat and the houses are far apart, so you get the sense of being more or less alone.
A beer on the terrace in the evening accompanied with the sounds of the night is a special experience. You can also get a drink at the bar located as an extension to the restaurant of Our Jungle Resort. An excellent restaurant by the way. Especially breakfast is good as it differs from other places in Thailand by having really good bread and good coffee.
Khao Sok and the Lake
Our Jungle House is reason enough to go to Khao Sok, but the highlights are the Lake and the rocks. It is a 90-minute semi-dull drive to the lake at Khao Sok, but the reward is great. A dam was built to redirect the water from the rivers and the result was a huge lake area spreading out over the national park. This national park holds the oldest rainforest in the world.
On the way out on a long-tailed boat, the great rock formations are approaching. During half an hour, one stunning postcard scene replaces another. It is as if 500 mountains and rocks were once sprinkled over the lake in an elegant chaos of disorganized beauty. There are fantastic wooded limestone cliffs with some places eroded so you can sail through. Breathtaking mountain formations rise majestically and almost frightening peacefulness covers the area. Khao Sok is maybe a bit similar to Halong Bay in Vietnam – some would say more beautiful. The Khao Sok Lake is alluring. When sitting in the long-tail boat you get the urge to go out in a canoe, to allow yourself to drift closer to the rocks.
There are plenty of opportunities for getting closer, especially with an overnight stay at the lake, which fortunately has chosen not to be commercialized. One could easily imagine one luxury hotel after another. Instead, the only option is a primitive bamboo hut with a mattress and a mosquito net. But with these surroundings, it is good enough. Go for a swim or take a kayak and find your own private paradise on the lake. You can have it all to yourself with only a monkey up in a tree, an eagle circling around the rocks and shoaling fish trying not to get caught by the bigger fish in the lake.
If the bamboo hut too primitive, a one-day trip out on the lake can also be arranged. Experiencing the sunrise and sunset out here is special and beautiful, but regardless of the choice of trip, Khao Sok is a fantastic experience. Also great for the children who get amazing nature experiences mixed with swims in the lake, a canoe ride and a go in the swim ring, where you are being pulled by a boat. A wonderful activity for children and child-like people. No jungle area in Thailand is complete without elephants. So if you would like a trip through the jungle on the back of an elephant, it can be done. For those wanting to get even closer to nature, organized jungle tours are being arranged on foot, during day and evening time.
Khao Sok has it all and a bit more. It is one of the experiences from Thailand that will be refreshed many times after returning home. Contact us for further information.
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