Step into the wild heart of Thailand, where cascading waterfalls, jungle trails, and the calls of roaming elephants await in Khao Yai National Park.
Khao Yai National Park, Thailand’s oldest and most popular national park, is an extraordinary destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts. Spanning 2,158 sq km and located approximately three hours from Bangkok, it has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005. Its mountainous terrain, dense forests, and stunning landscapes make it one of the best places in Thailand to experience the country’s rich flora and fauna.
The park is home to a wide variety of animals, including elephants, monkeys, bears, deer, and squirrels, as well as snakes, spiders, rodents, and countless insects. Birdwatchers will also delight in the more than 400 species of birds that inhabit the park.
We take one of the trekking trails in the park for a hike through the nature while enjoying the beautiful mountainous landscape. During this jungle hike you learn more about the flora and fauna of this beautiful wilderness. Even if you're not lucky with wildlife encounters, the massive strangler fig trees make it all worthwhile.
Khao Yai is also famous for its waterfalls. Haew Suwat is popular for its cinematic fame as the filming location for Leonardo DiCaprio’s waterfall dive in The Beach (2000). Haew Narok, the highest waterfall in the park, cascades over three tiers, with the final drop plunging 80 meters into a deep pool. Visitors can enjoy a safe hillside viewpoint for incredible photos, particularly spectacular during the rainy season.
One of the park’s highlights is the chance to see Asian elephants in the wild. Many visitors are lucky enough to spot them grazing peacefully in their natural habitat, though sightings cannot be guaranteed.
With its rich biodiversity, dramatic landscapes, and unforgettable wildlife experiences, Khao Yai National Park offers a perfect escape into Thailand’s wild heart, making it a must-visit for anyone seeking adventure and natural beauty.
Important notes:
- Please note that during the dry season the water flow at Haew Suwat and Haew Narok waterfalls may be lower than usual.
- For your comfort and safety, we recommend wearing hiking-appropriate clothing: lightweight but covering (to protect against insects and leeches), along with sturdy walking shoes.
- Khao Yai is a vast national park with many wild animals, reptiles, insects, and birds. Remember, this is not a zoo; the animals roam freely in their natural habitat, and spotting them can be challenging due to the dense vegetation.
- This tour also includes sections of hiking, so please ensure you are fit for this level of physical activity before booking.
Meeting point:
We provide hotel pick-up only from accommodations located on/near Khao San Road and on Siam Square.
If you are not an actual guest at one of the hotels in our pick-up area, the designated meeting point will be our office on Chao Khamrop Road in Chinatown. Our office in Chinatown is just a short 5-minute walk from Wat Mangkon MRT (metro) station.
For the exact location of our WanderSiam office on Google Maps, please click HERE.
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155 Comments
4.5
Nice, but little time at waterfall
Waterfalls are amazing. The planning and time management skills of the organisers is better to be developed, since instead of promised 4 hours at the waterfalls we were there only for 1.5 hour, which is definitely not enough to enjoy that fantastic place.
5
Good hike through a national park.
The tour was a good opportunity to see this far flung national park, if you are like me and do not want to attempt driving in Thailand (I am not familiar with their road suggestions/etiquette and my spatial awareness is not advanced enough to tetris a car through traffic). Our guide was very enthusiastic and affable. This is a good tour for ablebodied people who like to hike and attempt nature watching.
First things to note is that this is a national park, not a game reserve with trackers or a zoo. Animals are wild so there is no guarantee you will see them. Unfortunately we were not luck to see elephants when we went, they showed themselves 30 mins after we left, as our guide’s friend confirmed.
The trails are not accessible by any means. They are marked but not paved and there are sections of steep stair or tree roots/rocks to discend. We went during a particularly dry warm season but it is a tropical forest so it is an all weather activity. Prepare accordingly. Only 2 of 6 brought an umbrella which helped with not getting completely soaked. Guide was used to the rain but as he said, you will have to be 200% careful. In some sections 500% careful or you could fall (sometimes into elephant poop). All of us slipped at least once but only 1 badly. If you have camera gear, have a waterproof bag.
Recommend long sturdy pants unless you are ok with some scratches from thorned plants and some potential ant bites. Pants count: 2 cotton pants split at seams, 1 shorts a bit muddy from sitting to navigate downwards, 1 yoga mants with tear in the leg from spiky plant.
Spotted : monkeys, deer, scorpion, monitor and lots of butterflies.
5
Nice excursion with experienced guide
It was a really nice trip out in nature. The trip by car was comfortable. Surina was a very good guide, she knows the park very well and shared with us as much as she could. She and Frank took good care of us during the whole trip.
We were not lucky to see any elephants but saw many monkeys, an iguana, etc. The two waterfalls didn’t have a lot of water since it was dry season but still really cool to see.
5
A lovely day trip to get away from the smog of Bangkok, best to go in (or end of) wet season to see the waterfalls
This was a lovely day trip, although as it is the dry season, the waterfalls weren’t flowing at the national park. We saw some interesting bird species and a crocodile too. Surina was a lovely and knowledgable tour guide and was vigilant and made sure we are safe walking through the jungle. The lunch at the park was really good too. The trip got cut slightly short as it started pouring down, but our driver Mai, proved to be and excellent driver and got us home safe in the heavy rain.
5
A fun and thrilling trip through the national park – worth being very sweaty at the end of it!
We had a great experience hiking through the jungle with Surina!
She was very nice and knowledgable guiding us to waterfalls, along small rivers and over sticks & stones. Thanks to her trained eye, we saw footprints of elephants (&their poop of course), marks of bears on trees, a snake as well as a few other animals during our trip. And at the end, we were even able to watch a big elephant eat calmly on one side of the road!
The driver Jerawat was also really nice to us and tried his best slowing down at bumps in the road, so that we had a smooth 3-hour drive to the park (& back).
We can fully recommend the trip for a great and thrilling experience during holidays 🙂