The sights
Cheow Lan Lake
A reservoir of jade-green water winding for dozens of kilometres between forested limestone towers up to several hundred metres high. The trio of pinnacles known as Khao Sam Kloe is the classic photograph.
ℹ️ Boats leave from the Ratchaprapha Dam pier, about 65 km from Khlong Sok. National park fee plus boat hire. Calmest and clearest in the early morning.
Floating raft houses
Rows of floating cabins moored in sheltered inlets, an hour or so by boat from the pier. You swim and kayak straight from the deck, eat fish from the lake and fall asleep to frogs and distant gibbons.
ℹ️ Booked as overnight packages. Facilities vary from very basic to luxurious; mobile signal is patchy or absent.
Sok River
A clear, gentle river running past Khlong Sok village beneath overhanging cliffs and fig trees. Guided canoe trips and tubing drift downstream for an hour or two, with snakes and monitor lizards often spotted on the branches.
ℹ️ Runs all year; tubing is best when levels are higher, from about June to December. Canoes are paddled by a guide.
Rainforest trails from the park headquarters
Wide tracks and narrower paths follow the river into the forest towards a series of waterfalls and swimming holes. Bamboo, giant buttressed trees, liana and the calls of gibbons set the scene.
ℹ️ Park fee at the gate. Beyond the first few kilometres a licensed guide is required. Night safaris on foot start at dusk.
Rafflesia kerrii
One of the world’s largest flowers, up to 80 cm across, rust-red and smelling faintly of rotting meat. It has no leaves or stem and blooms for only a few days from a bud that takes months to swell.
ℹ️ Flowers mainly from about December to March. Local guides know which buds are open; expect a steep hike of an hour or more each way.
Lake caves
Several caves open off the lake shore. Pakarang, or Coral Cave, reached by a short walk and a bamboo raft, has stalactites and flowstone like branching coral; Diamond Cave is an easy dry cave on the way.
ℹ️ Visited on guided lake tours. Bring a torch and shoes that can get wet. Nam Talu cave is closed in the wet season.
