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Khao-sok National park lies 175 kilometres north
of Phuket, an easy journey by car. From Phuket you just follow the
road northeast and follow signs for Suratthani. From the Sarasin
bridge at the north of Phuket it is fifty kilometres to Khao - Lak.
This is a forest reserve that tries to preserve an interesting biotype`
where dense jungle reaches right to the sea. Such habitat is almost
completely gone, as it has been cleared for agriculture. Several
species of orchids grow particularly well in this slightly saline
environment e.g. Dendrobium secundum Linn. The "second Dendrobium'
is known in Thai as the toothbrush orchid, an appropriate name as
the unusual flowers do closely resemble a toothbrush. Some trees
are festooned with this and other orchid species. The cold gray-green
sea appears European in the rainy season and all the new up-market
resorts and bungalows are empty. Like migrating birds the tourists
will flock to Khao- Lak again for the dry season when the sea will
be azure again.
A further thirty-five kilometres brings you to the large town of
Taqua-Pah; the former provincial capital of Phang-Nga. You should
fill your fuel tank full here as there are no more petrol stations
until a long way past Khao-sok. Just over the bridge on your left
is the bus station and behind it is the fresh market. It's
worth a look, full of strange fruits, vegetables, spices and condiments.
Vendors sell fried chicken with sticky rice and other Thai snacks
from barrows out-front.
The bus station is a convenient place to eat. The large central
restaurant seats over a hundred people and has a dozen different
food outlets around it serving a variety of basic Thai foods. Food
is twenty to thirty baht a dish. A drinks counter sells many strange
looking refreshments; a glass of iced'tea' (made from roasted corn
on the cob) costs only four baht.
Moving on towards Khao-sok, the road bears eastward and mountains
loom on the skyline. Along the road you may find fruit for sale
in season. In June it was durians, in July rambutans. As you get
closer, the road which has been a highway, suddenly becomes a byway
and the hills rise about you becoming wilder and more verdant as
you ascend. A few hundred metres higher you reach the crest at kilometre
market 113 and fifty metres further on the right hand side is a
tiny pull - in full of spirit houses. This is the boarder between
Phang-Nga and Suratthani provinces.
As you roll past the 110 kilometres to Suratthani marker an amazing
vista opens to your right. It's the best view of the Sok river
valley available and well worth stopping to take a photograph or
two.
A primal landscape appears below you. It's unreal and looks
like something out of those oriental paintings adorned with storks,
so familiar in Chinese restaurants.
A huge limestone karst stands alone over a hundred metres tall,
an island in the sky, its sides bare white rock, stained orange
red in places; its flattened peak densely covered with forest. For
the animals that live on this peak it really is an island. Most
of the cliff face is undercut and very few animals other than birds
can ascend or descend.
This totally unexplored territory may hold many secrets as it offers
a unique microenvironment. It is such places that offer isolation
from surrounding populations that are supposed to, according to
classical Darwinian theory, provide the opportunity for sub-speciation
and ultimately the emergence of new species. Alternatively such
eco-islands can provide a sanctuary for the survival of otherwise
extinct species.
A few hundred metres further down hill is the Mai-Yai waterfall.
It is quite small but there is car parking and shade.
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Just before the bottom of the mountain, the entrance to the National
park appears on your left. As I drove in I noticed an enormous orchid
flowering in the first garden. It was Grammatophyllum speciosum,
a common species in southern Thailand and the world's biggest
orchid. The flower spikes were only one metre long (it was still
a young plant) and the yellow chocolate spotted flowers just 8cm
across. A fully-grown specimen can produce two-metre long flower
spikes with blooms up to 12cm across. The one and half kilometre
road to the parks headquaters has many bungalos, resorts, trekking
companies and restaurants with some more down the side trails. Various
services are offered, including elephant rides, canoeing and'rafting'
down rapids on inner tube; camping and night safaries, taxi service,
laundry, foreign exchange, phone calls. Mountain bikes are also
available and incongruously just before the park entrance, Internet
access!
At the entrance of the park is a booth where visitors can buy a
ticket; adults are charged THB 200, children under 14 years old
THB100 and children under 3 free. Thais nationals are cgarged THB
40.
Park inside next to the river and have a look at the visitor centre.
There are several displays showing photos, plans and maps that explain
the geology, history and environment of the park.
The most interesting items concern the strange species Raffelesia
kerrii meijer, a saprophytic (parasitic) plant. This plant can only
be seen in January, February and March when it flowers. For the
rest of the year it is hidden, existing as a bundle of fine root-like
fibers inside its host plant the liana Tetrastigma papillosum.
The flowers, known locally as "Buah Poot", are 70-80cm
in diametre and first appear on the roots of the host plant as a
swollen bud, covered in thick brown scales, which expands to football
size before unfolding its thick fleshy petals. It produces an unpleasant
smell that attracts insects. Some insects manage to transfer pollen
from the male to the female flowers that then produce a huge number
of microscopic seeds. How the seeds are distributed remains a mystery.
A map shows the various trails and guides are available to take
you along them. The guide can show you many things you may not notice
by yourself and will warn you where it is slippery and which plants
not to use as hand holds. You can go alone but it's not recommended.
One of the most popular destinations is the eleven-tiered waterfall
called'sip-et chan' (eleven levels). Only 4 km from the headquarters,
the trail starts just behind the H.Q. restaurant and ascends steeply
through bamboo forest crossing the river six times. Sturdy boots
are recommended or at least trainers. Sandals are unsuitable and
although local people can walk through a jungle in them, foreigners
will usually cut their feet on thorny ground vines of the Smilax
genus.
The 6 km walk to Tang-nam is less arduous and leads to a dramatic
gorge with a large deep pool. Several other waterfalls can be seen
along the trails. For people interested in seeing animals it's
better to take one of the less popular trails. The reason most people
see very few animals is because they make too much noise. Walk slowly,
do not speak, attract your friend's attention by making bird
noises and then point at what you wish them to observe.
Always walk around round bends in the trail slowly; you don't know
what might be waiting there for you. The chances of you meeting
one of'Khao-sok' s tigers is very small but you could well see
the golden jungle cat or a civet. I myself met the yellow-throated
martin on the ground. Usually this long legged predator runs through
the treetops catching squirrels. Khao-sok has many of the sixteen
species of squirrels found in Thailand, including the giant squirrel,
the gliding squirrel and the three - coloured squirrel.
Many others species of animals inhabit Khao-sok and the surrounding
mountains, including elephants, gaur, banteng, deer, serow, wild
boar. In the trees are macaque monkeys, langurs and gibbons. So
far, 188 species of birds have been identified in this area including
five of the thirteen species of hornbill known to occur in Thailand.
Dawn and dusk are the best times for spotting birds, as many species
are inactive during the heat of the day. Nighttime can be quite
cool in the forest, a jacket is advisable. Long sleeves and trousers
will help to avoid mosquito bites. Mosquito repellant is best applied
to your clothes and shoes, not to your skin. Some brands contain
unsafe chemicals, such as toluene.
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Khao-sok became Thailand's twenty-second National park on
the 22nd of December 1980. It covers 739 square kilometres. Next
to it is the Klong Phanom National park of 464 square kilometres.
This park lies on the other side of highway 401. Khao - sok headquarters
are at kilometre marker 109. Klong Phanom headquarters are fifty
kilometres inside the turning at the 90-kilometre marker.
If you tire of the humid monsoon forest interior, a different perspective
can be found 65 kms further towards Suratthani at the Rachabrapah
Dam.
The dam was built in 1982 and as it filled over, 100 islands formed,
many of these are spectacular pillars that rise vertically skywards
for up to a hundred metres and are usually crowned with their own
private jungle. This has created a paradise for birds (and bird
watchers) as the islands have fewer species of predators than the
surrounding jungle. You can stay on floating raft houses operated
by local people as part of the Forestry Department's effort
to promote sustainable use of natural resources and eco-tourism.
You need to contact the park headquarters to book a room. The dam
wall is 95 metres high and 700 metres long. The surface area of
the dam is 165 square kilometres. It's very irregular shape
means it has an enormously long shoreline, all of which offers you
the chance to observe wildlife from a boat. Unfortunately the local
boat engines are deafeningly noisy. You need will to paddle if you
wish to see any animals.
Between the dam and Khao-sok are the Phanthurat caves, next to
the road. This huge cave has a temple next to it and Buddha statues
inside. The cave is part of an old underground river and cuts right
through the karst mountain, making it light and airy inside. The
far side cave- mouth looks down on to a river. The whole length
of this section of highway 401 is full of bizarrely shaped mountains
dripping with foliage, sometimes glowing at sunset, sometimes the
peaks lost in clouds with patches of mist hovering over the slopes.
Whatever the weather the scenery remains magnificent.
Khao-sok National park.
Moo , Klong sok
Phanom Surattani 84205
Tel : (077) 299318-9
Klong Phanom National Park
107 Moo4 Klong sok
Phanom Surattani 84205
National Parks Division: http://www.forest.go.th
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