Introducing the Cha-Am National Park

Normally, the rainy season in Cha-Am starts from May to the end of September every year with abundant rain between June and August. That is why there are less visitors in Cha-Am than other seasons of the year. To name but only a few are the Khao Nang Panturat National Park and Cha-Am National Park. Apart from white sandy beaches, Cha-Am has many other places worth visiting all year round. This hill is also a symbol of Cha-Am because it is the city’s gateway. Looking at the brighter side, rainy season boasts verdant environs: trees are growing and plants are blossoming. Since the main tourist attraction is beaches, most travelers think that visiting Cha-Am is not convenient during the rainy season due to murky sea water, grey skies which brings about a gloomy atmosphere. Located 5 kilometers from Cha-Am beaches and north of the Cha-Am municipal area, the Khao Nang Panturat can be easily accessed via Baan Nong Tapod in the west. Legend has it that Nang Panturat, a female giant from the famous Thai literature, ‘Sang Thong (Prince of Gold Conch Shell)’, wept to death here when the prince, learning that his stepmother is a non-human, decided to run away from her. The place is eye-catching thanks to its small hill that looks like a reclining woman covering the north and south.

After Nang Panturat followed and found him, she unsuccessfully persuaded the prince to come back to live with her. Moreover, the head of the hill has a big rock of strange shape which Thai people usually call Nang Panturat’s urn. Other spots can be easily visited thanks to a long wooden walkway along which ones can find rare plants and wildlife, such as langur and hog deer. The Cha-Am National Park mostly covers plain areas with a lot trees, brooks and a long walkway that allows visitors to admire unharmed nature there. For a perfect holiday getaway, visitors can enjoy complete facilities at the park like restaurants and beverage parlors, a picnic area, a health garden where visitors can exercise, play petanque and Sepak Raga. A unique option for vacationers, the Cha-Am National Park will give them an unforgettable stay close to nature. A former pine forest, it has recently been renovated to attract nature lovers and those who seek a peaceful place to relax. The Cha-Am National Park, located by the Phetchakasem road on the kilometer post 208, is less than 1 kilometer from Cha-Am. In 1994, the so-called Nang Panturat’s urn was partly destroyed due to cement production. The activity was then halted and the area around the Nang Panturat hill was later declared the national park on 25 February 1999 by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of the Royal Forest Department. The National Park’s large ground is an ideal place for campers, too. With its convenient location and beautiful plants all year round, the Khao Nang Panturat National Park is worth more than only one visit. After she died, her body became the hill like what people see at present. If one day is not enough, the park also provides a camping site or rooms to stay. Extremely sad and grieve-stricken, the female giant cried to death. After passing the area and seeing what had happened in 1996, His Majesty the King called for a concerned cement industry to stop exploding the hill and preserve it. A natural tourist site, the Khao Nang Panturat National Park consists of eye-catching spots, namely Nang Panturat’s Crematory, Nang Panturat’s Mirror and the Prince’s bathing pond. Among various rare flora and fauna are pine, hog plum, ebony and several ferns as well as squirrel, gibbon and wild birds.

An einer versteckten Anlegestelle nehmen Sie ein Boot, um diese herrliche Umgebung zu erkunden.

Der Nationalpark besteht aus einer Reihe von stacheligen Bergen, die dem Park seinen Namen geben und “dreihundert Gipfel” bedeuten. Das Boot bringt Sie durch den Ort und bietet eine gute Gelegenheit, das Leben entlang des Kanals zu beobachten. An einer versteckten Anlegestelle nehmen Sie ein Boot, um diese herrliche Umgebung zu erkunden. In Bang Pu, einem kleinen Fischerdorf, gehen Sie an Bord eines lokalen Bootes, um zum Strand zu gelangen. Am Nachmittag kehren Sie nach Bang Pu zurück, wo Sie am Strand aussteigen und dann zu den weniger bekannten Feuchtgebieten weiterfahren. Diese Feuchtgebiete sind die größten in Thailand und beherbergen eine Vielzahl von Vögeln und anderen Tieren. Die Höhle ist unter den Einheimischen berühmt geworden, seit König Rama V. sie besuchte und einen kleinen Schrein errichtete; unter den richtigen Bedingungen ist das Licht, das auf den Schrein fällt, fantastisch. In diesem Fall wird die Bootsfahrt durch eine kurze Wanderung ersetzt (1 km pro Strecke, 2 km insgesamt). Bei rauem Seegang ist die Bootsfahrt von Bang Pu zum Strand Laem Sala möglicherweise nicht möglich. Auf dem Rückweg zum Strand haben Sie etwas Zeit, sich zu entspannen und ein Bad im Meer zu nehmen. Am Strand von Laem Sala haben Sie etwas Zeit zum Entspannen, bevor Sie zur bezaubernden Phraya-Nakhon-Höhle wandern. Die majestätischen Gipfel des Sam Roi Yot und das warme Licht der späten Nachmittagssonne bilden die perfekte Kulisse für den Ausklang des Tages. Nach der Wanderung können Sie sich im Restaurant mit einer lokalen Mahlzeit stärken und noch etwas Freizeit genießen, um den Strand auf der Suche nach Languren zu erkunden oder ein Bad im Meer zu nehmen. Die bekannteste Attraktion des Parks ist der malerische Strand Laem Sala, von dem aus Sie eine erfrischende Wanderung zur Phraya-Nakhon-Höhle unternehmen können.

In Khao Sok, Elephant Hills has come up with an alternative solution.

With more than 100 national parks, Thailand offers a veritable menu of adventures. Its Rainforest Camp is 20 safari-style tents each floating on a platform above Cheow Lan Lake in the heart of Thailand’s largest virgin rainforest. Many can be combined for an in-depth nature tour, or contrasted with time exploring a city or downtime on the beach. With all that choice, our Thailand specialists share their experiences to help you find the right park for you. Each tent has its own balcony: you can jump straight into the turquoise waters for a swim, or paddle out across the lake in your personal kayak. At night, nothing disturbs you save the click of cicadas, and you’re woken by the screech of gibbons at dawn. In Khao Sok, Elephant Hills has come up with an alternative solution. The floating restaurant serves a buffet of freshly cooked Thai curries and salads. You can watch a bat exodus in Khao Yai, snorkel with reef sharks in Ang Thong and hike to a cave temple in Khao Sam Roi Yot – and that’s just for starters. Inland, you’ll find forests cloaking waterfalls, rare orchids and, occasionally, elephants. A jigsaw of limestone crags line the southern coasts, touching emerald-blue waters. Most Thai national parks have places to stay nearby to avoid building on protected parkland.

• Sri Nakarin, Kanchanaburi Province
• Room safe
• WLAN with Internet access in rooms Hourly rate 428 THB
• Parking area equipped with lights
• Limousine service
• Business center
• Reception (lobby)
• Windows for opening

The park itself was thrust up from the ocean millions of years ago, when the collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates forced a hunk of the seafloor to rise. Other activities you can join include guided hikes, kayak tours and a visit to a cave-dwelling bat colony. From Bangkok, it’s an hour-and-a-half flight to Phuket on Thailand’s southwest coast. This has crafted a landscape that veers from lowland scrub. Elephant Hills’ representatives will meet you in the airport for the three-hour drive to the Elephant Hills Tented Camp for your first night. Cobalt-blue waterways to sheer limestone crags crowned with rainforest. After your stay, you’re well located to head onward to the beach, with both Krabi and Khao Lak within three hours’ reach. The camp is best visited as part of a two-night, three-day experience run by Elephant Hills, with a night at its sister property, Elephant Hills Tented Camp. Here, you can help to feed and wash the resident elephants, which are being rehabilitated after working in the logging industry. The guides will tell you that it’s more ecologically diverse than the Amazon.