Khao Yai: waterfalls and jungle trails

You'll make your own way to Khao Yai National Park by train or bus to Pak Chong. If you let the lodge know your time of arrival, they'll send someone to collect you from the station. Alternatively, a taxi to the lodge takes only 15 minutes and costs approx £2.
 
During our Khao Yai National Park tour, you will stay in a lodge just outside the gates - an eclectic mix of buildings with spacious rooms, old fashioned and typically Thai. There is an open air restaurant as well as a swimming pool with waterfall and a herbal sauna. After settling in and freshening up, you'll set off into the park at 3.30pm to catch sunset at the bat cave. You'll witness thousands upon thousands of bats swarm out in the light of the setting sun. Keep an eye out for the birds of prey as they try to intercept them. It really is a breathtaking highlight of this Khao Yai National Park tour. 
 

You'll make an early start today with a wake up call at 7.15am. After breakfast, you'll set off at 8.30am in a small open bus (songthaew) with your guide and fellow travellers to seek out some wildlife on a Khao Yao National Park tour. The driver and guide are excellent at spotting the wildlife and the bus will stop often to observe the animals in the jungle. The anticipation is really exhilarating. Macaques (monkeys) will wander nonchalantly across the roads but you’ll need binoculars to study the toucans, gibbons or sloths high up in the canopy. You'll stop for some lunch and a quick swim at a waterfall you may recognise from a scene in ‘The Beach’, the rest of which was filmed on Krabi and Ko Phi Phi.

After lunch, you'll set off on a 2-hour trek through the jungle to get a view of the wildlife at closer quarters. The paths are all level but riddled with thick roots and low branches, so be sure to watch your step and wear sturdy shoes. Your Khao Yai National Park trek will cover part of the 50km network of tracks that crosses through the park, mostly over elephant trails. In the dry season, you'll be given special long socks to keep out the ticks and leeches and in the wet season you'll be given a poncho. Your guide will explain everything you see along the way, pointing out edible leaves and creatures that your untrained eyes may have missed.

Following the trek, you'll take a slow drive up to the viewpoint, 1300m high, giving fantastic views over the thick jungle canopy. As dusk arrives, you'll notice the sights and sounds of the jungle beginning to change. The noise of crickets will become deafening, and now is your best chance to see elephants, wildcats and porcupines during this Khao Yai National Park tour.
 

Today, your Khao Yai National Park tour ends, so after breakfast and a quick swim you'll be transferred to the train or bus station for your next module. We can suggest that you follow your trip to Khao Yai with a wonderfully rural adventure Thailand homestay.