Erawan National Park

Erawan National Park is a popular tourist spot known for its 7 tier cascade Erawan Falls, which adds exponentially to the beauty of this Thailand Park. Home to the most popular waterfalls, Ponds, trees, and wildlife creatures, Erawan National Park is located in Tenasserim Hills in West Thailand.

Founded in the year 1975, this park is Thailand's 12th National Park. Covering almost 12355.3 acres, the park became an instant favorite recreational spot for locals, and the popularity grew to foreign tourists. Erawan National Park has its all with numerous caves, lush green pathways, limestone hills, several streams, great picnic spots near the ponds, hiking trails, hot lagoons, and a calm relaxing ambiance.

Many people regard the park for fostering a calming feeling; some refer to the feeling as a mystical, spiritual one. This is because despite not being a piece of common knowledge for many, Erawan National Park holds a lot of significance for local Hindus and visitors, as the park and the Erawan Falls are named after Airavata - the three headed white elephant in Hindu mythology.

But no matter the reason it may be, whether spiritually or solely natural, Erawan National Park makes a great recreational spot and a must-visit place in Thailand. To further convince you about the exceptionalness of the Park, here is the list of things that makes this park stand out amongst the lot.

 

The highlight of Erawan National Park

 

ERAWAN FALLS

The sight of Erawan Falls is unquestionably breathtaking; situated at the east side of the park, the fall is easily accessible to people from the visitor center. The fall is seven tiers high and resembles the three-headed white elephant, Airavata, in the Hindu mythology from where it derives its name. Arguably being the famous landmark of the park, this park started to be recognized and called as 'Erawan National Park, 'and later, the name got officiated.

The resembles of the Airavata is not the only reason why this falls is so popular; the picturesque emerald green clear waters falling in the fresh pool filled with friendly fishes is the biggest waterfall in Thailand. The fall is a popular trekking spot with seven primary tiers and few small tiers that make it grand, few easily accessible by trails and footbridges surrounding it, while few aren't. But regardless of it and the 1.5km distance, people still like to go on its trails.

The first two-tier are very easy to access; in fact, they have quite a few picnic spots with proper benches and stuff. The tiers after that become a bit tedious to go on; food is also strictly restricted after the second tier. From 3rd to 6th tier, climbing the fall, is accessible but a bit challenging. However, it's the 7th tier, which is the most challenging one and often not accessed much. Actually, it's best suited for those who like a bit more adventure and a little bit of fright. Though recently, a concrete path was built to make the pathway safer and convenient for people, especially during the wet seasons, caution is suggested.

Either way, whether all seven tiers are accessible or none, Erawan Falls is very popular and gets thousands and thousands of visitors every day. Hence it is advised to visit the park early morning for a stunning view, quiet refreshing ambiance, and less crowd.

 

WILDLIFE

Erawan National Park houses a lot of wildlife; however, the possibility of sighting wildlife is slight due to the limited number of trails. Also, if you seek to find some rare animals at the park, you might not have much luck as the wildlife here is mainly restricted to mammals, crab-eating macaque, and wild boar.

However, you can see a barking deer, Asian elephant, gibbon, Indochinese serow, and sambar deer, which might be interesting to a few, but they are deeper in the park. Other than mammals, the Park has a wide range of birds, around 120 species that elevates the beauty of the park significantly with their stunning appearance, their sounds, and when they cover the sky. The widespread habitats of the park are crested serpent eagle, grey peacock-pheasant, kalij pheasant, and more.

 

HIKING TRAILS

Erawan National Park has numerous hiking trails, some popular amongst the masses, some unknown but all are great to trek on. Erawan Waterfall hiking trails are the most popular, but here are some hidden gems that are a must-visit.

- The Easy Trail

Starting from behind the public toilets near the Erawan National Park Headquarters, the trail runs parallel; to the Erawan waterfall. This 1 kilometer long trails take you from different scenic beauty from waterfall to the dense green bamboo forest. This may be an unconventional trekking route, but it's a nice one to walk on.

- The Hin Lan Pee Nature Trail

This 5-kilometer hiking trail is the most fun, adventurous, and time-consuming trail, ending up at the 5th tier of the Erawan Waterfalls and taking around 2-3 to reach. Though people can go on their own, but Erawan National Park management team recommends to hire a guide for ease and safety.

 

CAVES

Caves are another popular spot to roam around in the park, the entry fee for them is the same as the Erawan National Park waterfall, but unlike the waterful, it is recommended to have a guide through the tour for easy navigation.

There are numerous hidden caves and open ones in the park, but the best amongst them is no doubt the following;

- Rua Cave

This is one of the famous caves to visit as it pays homage to the ancient civilizations of Thailand. The caves have numerous old coffins that it stores along with other relics. Located 1 kilometer away from the Ban Thap Sila, visiting this cave is a favorite tourist spot within the park.

- Phra That Cave

Located 12 kilometers away from the Park's Headquarters, the cave is a very interesting place to be. With a narrow entryway opening up to a grand ara over 200 meters wide, this cava is literally a hidden gem. Holding various stalactites and stalagmites, it is not only an instagramable place but a peaceful place to rest too.

 

How to reach Erawan National Park

We are pretty sure that you might be excited about the place and the general question that follows is how to reach the place. The great thing about going to this park is that there are numerous ways and different price points to choose from, such as;

1. A van trip from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, which departs from 5 am to 11 pm after every 20 minutes. It takes around 2 hours for this commute to take you to the destination 110 THB per person.

2. A train trip from Thonburi train station departs around 7:50 am to 1.55 pm and takes 3 hours to reach. The estimate for this is 110 THB per person too.

3. A Songtaews departs from Kanchanaburi Bus Station and coss around 1,000 THB (USD 35) for a round trip. The fee is ideally divided amongst a group of 10 people.

4. A Motorbike ride is a popular option that costs around 300 THB per day.

5. A Bus ride is preferable as it directly ends up at Erawan National Park from Kanchanaburi and costs around 45 THB per person.