Khao Sok National Park

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Khao Sok National Park

Here is the last extensive rainforest in southern Thailand - and it s quite spectacular

Misty Dam of Khao Sok National Park [12831 bytes]

Eternally green, unusually wet and more than a little mysterious, Khao Sok National Park is southern Thailand’s most intriguing nature destination. Straddling the central mountain range of the Thai-Malay peninsula midway between Phuket Island and Koh Samui, Khao Sok owes its stunning beauty and rich biodiversity to rainfall, geography and a bit of historical luck.

Looking through the jungle of Khao Sok National park [20305 bytes] Storms sweeping in from both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand are trapped by the densely forested mountains, bringing a deluge of rain to this region from June to November. Khao Sok, with 3,500 mm of rain recorded annually, is in fact the wettest place in all of Thailand. Lush tropical evergreen forests and towering limestone crags shrouded in veils of cloud and morning mist lend a haunting beauty to this landscape. It isn’t the dramatic beauty, however, but rather the extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna that elevates Khao Sok from the merely scenic to the status of a potential World Heritage Site.

Into the Rainforests of Khao Sok National park [26270 bytes] Together with two con-tiguous wildlife sanctuaries(Klong Saen and Klong Nakkha) and an adjacent na-tional park (Kaeng Kung), Khao Sok is one of the largest protected areas in southern Thailand and one Asia’s last viable habitats for tiger and other large mammals needing extensive ranges for their survival. Elephant, gaur and banteng (two species of wild cattle), Malay tapir, sambar deer, Asiatic black bear, Malay sun bear, leopard, golden cat, fishing cat, pangolin, marten, otter, gibbon, langur and three spe-cies of macaques are but a few of Khao Sok’s 48 confirmed mammal species. The great argus pheasant and five species of hornbill are among the 184 bird species recorded here to date.

Fishing Boats in Khao Sok National Park [17571 bytes] Khao Sok also provides critical habitat for some of Thailand’s rarest and most en-dangered species: clouded leopard, tiger, marbled cat, Rusa’s barking deer, banded civet and quite possibly, Gurney’s pitta, Storm’s stork and the Sumatran rhino. While classification of animals and plants for this region is far from complete, three species of indigenous plants are unmatched in the rest of the world: Rafflesis kerri meijer, one of the worlds rarest plants and its largest flower, and two new species of palm. Palm langkow, found only in Khao Sok and nearby Khao Phra Taen forest reserve, is a lovely fan shaped palm which the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUNC) lists as the world’s most endangered palm species.
Bungalows at Khao Sok National Park [12810 bytes] Khao Sok National Park is still one of Thailand’s best kept secrets. It’s Southern Thailand’s premier destination for the serious naturalist, and its best candidate for World Heritage status – truly a priceless gem in the Kingdom’s crown.

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