The obvious natural landmark of this park is the towering limestone cliff that looks like a huge curtain, but “hidden” in lush jungle are several waterfalls and large caves. The park lies both in Khon Kaen as well as in Amphoe Phu Kradueng in Loei province.
To say that the roads in the park are bad is an understatement. If you want to visit duing the rainy season, it is recommended to do so in a vehicle with 4WD as the dirt tracks turn into slippery mud arteries. Moreover, be aware that all signage inside the park is in Thai, so if you (or your co-driver) cannot read Thai you will have a hard time finding the park’s attractions.
By a stroke of luck, my usual argumentation at the park entrance about the exorbitant fees foreigners are charged resulted in an unusual compromise. The park ranger offered to be my “personal guide” if you would agree to pay the full entrance fee.
In the end, the ranger guided me to exit the park a dozen or so kilometer north of the park head quarters. That exit was without any ranger station, so people can actually enter the park without paying any fee whatsoever.
As mentioned, having the ranger telling which tracks to follow was a great help as the few signs all were in Thai. So, I would most likely not have found any of the attractions and I was a bit in a hurry.
Attractions in the national park include Tham Klang Khao in Phu Pha Man Mountain. The cave’s entrance is some 100 meters up, The large cave is home to millions of bats, whose droppings have accumulated over time and smell like ... yeah, you guessed it.
Every evening, around 6 PM, the bats leave the cave in a line that stretch around ten kilometers. It takes some 30-40 minutes from the first until the last bat leaves the cave. Or so said my guide. As I was in a rush to get to Bangkok that evening, I did not have time to wait around until 6 PM
Tham Phra is near Tham Klang Khao and has a natural tunnel sloping up to the crest of Phu Pha Man Mountain. It is a bit difficult to get through, but inside are beautiful stalagmites, stalactites, and big stone pillars.
Tham Pu Ta
Lo is almost 20 kilometers from park head quarters. The cave has a very spacious chamber and there are 5-7 meters to the cave’s “ceiling”. My guide’s flashlight chose to run out of battery in this cave and my pocket-size flashlight (supposed to have high-tech LED light bulbs) emitted a pathetic anemic light, we had to resort to my guide’s back-up solution: candle lights. Putting up a dozen or so of small candle lights resulted in positive side effect. The light was reflected on some glittering stones (rock crystals?), which under other circumstances could have been romantic.
Despite that I had told my guide that I was in a hurry, the ranger insisted I went to see Tat Rong waterfall and Suan Hin Pha Ngam. What I wasn’t told was that both are located in Loei Province and there thus would be quite a drive. See tomorrow’s blog for the rest a my day in Loei and Khon Kaen.
To say that the roads in the park are bad is an understatement. If you want to visit duing the rainy season, it is recommended to do so in a vehicle with 4WD as the dirt tracks turn into slippery mud arteries. Moreover, be aware that all signage inside the park is in Thai, so if you (or your co-driver) cannot read Thai you will have a hard time finding the park’s attractions.
By a stroke of luck, my usual argumentation at the park entrance about the exorbitant fees foreigners are charged resulted in an unusual compromise. The park ranger offered to be my “personal guide” if you would agree to pay the full entrance fee.
In the end, the ranger guided me to exit the park a dozen or so kilometer north of the park head quarters. That exit was without any ranger station, so people can actually enter the park without paying any fee whatsoever.
As mentioned, having the ranger telling which tracks to follow was a great help as the few signs all were in Thai. So, I would most likely not have found any of the attractions and I was a bit in a hurry.
Attractions in the national park include Tham Klang Khao in Phu Pha Man Mountain. The cave’s entrance is some 100 meters up, The large cave is home to millions of bats, whose droppings have accumulated over time and smell like ... yeah, you guessed it.
Every evening, around 6 PM, the bats leave the cave in a line that stretch around ten kilometers. It takes some 30-40 minutes from the first until the last bat leaves the cave. Or so said my guide. As I was in a rush to get to Bangkok that evening, I did not have time to wait around until 6 PM
Tham Phra is near Tham Klang Khao and has a natural tunnel sloping up to the crest of Phu Pha Man Mountain. It is a bit difficult to get through, but inside are beautiful stalagmites, stalactites, and big stone pillars.
Tham Pu Ta
Lo is almost 20 kilometers from park head quarters. The cave has a very spacious chamber and there are 5-7 meters to the cave’s “ceiling”. My guide’s flashlight chose to run out of battery in this cave and my pocket-size flashlight (supposed to have high-tech LED light bulbs) emitted a pathetic anemic light, we had to resort to my guide’s back-up solution: candle lights. Putting up a dozen or so of small candle lights resulted in positive side effect. The light was reflected on some glittering stones (rock crystals?), which under other circumstances could have been romantic.Despite that I had told my guide that I was in a hurry, the ranger insisted I went to see Tat Rong waterfall and Suan Hin Pha Ngam. What I wasn’t told was that both are located in Loei Province and there thus would be quite a drive. See tomorrow’s blog for the rest a my day in Loei and Khon Kaen.
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