Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park located in the west of Thai Gulf, in the territory of Kuiburi District, Sam Roi Yot Sub District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park is Thailandโs first coastal National Park in 1996, covering the area of approximately 98.8 sq.km. The landscape is high steep limestone mountains by the beautiful coast, matching with plain area stand by the sea, which are marshy beach and shallow sea pond.
There are limestones islands nearby the coast e.g., Sattakut Island, Kho Ram Island, Nom Sao Island, Rawing Island, Rawang Island and Khi Nok Island. The flat area with stagnant water through the year on the west of the park is Thung Sam Roi Yot, which is the large freshwater marsh, covering around 36.8 sq.km.
The name Khao Sam Roi Yot can be translated into "The Mountain With Three Hundred Peaks", a series of magnificent grey limestone mountains, which rise dramatically from the Gulf of Thailand and adjacent coastal marsh to a maximum height of 605 m.
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park is the bird-watchers' paradise. The Park's amazingly diversified vegetation and relatively inaccessible terrain make it the home of more than 300 bird species, some of them rare. The Park is also the dwelling place of some peculiar land animals and water creatures like dolphin. The Park is considered by the seasoned travelers as one of the most interesting wildlife habitats in Thailand.
Tourism Attractions Apart from bird-watching, the main pastime in the Park, one can enjoy the time in other ways too. Some other options as following
Trails and Cruise
Hiking trails meander through the park. The Khao Krachom trail takes one to the top of the tallest hill. Steep rocky trails lead to the fine beaches of Sam Phraya and Laem Sala. If one does not want to punt oneself on exertion, boats can be hired from Ban Bang Pu. A popular boat trip is a two-hour cruise along the Khao Daeng Canal. Slicing through wetland habitats and mangroves, the trip is very pleasant experience.
The Caves
Phraya Nakhon CaveThe Park has marvelous caves like Phraya Nakhon, Kaeo and Sai. Adventurous people fond of trekking on rocky landscapes should follow the trail to Phraya Nakhon Cave. It can be reached on walking from Ban Bang Pu or boat.
Interlinked chambers and deep tunnels are two characteristics of Kaeo Cave. Calcite-encrusted walls are illuminated like jewels when seen in lamp-light. Sai Cave is single large cavern where one should enter with lamp to see the nature-designed cave-walls.
The Beaches
Laem Sala is fine sandy beach with limestone hills in close vicinity. Sam Phraya is another beach 5 km from the headquarters. Restaurants are available on both the beaches.
The wooded mountains make it a site of outstanding natural beauty, but it is the freshwater marsh and coastal habitats (an important stopover and breeding area for birds), that gives the park great ecological significance. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park also has great recreational and educational value. It offers the visitor a tremendous variety of attractions. These include fine sandy beaches, spectacular caves, superb mountain viewpoints, offshore islands, forest trails, boat.
Excursions, estuarine and mangrove habitats, all within a relatively small area. This unparalleled variety of habitats makes it one of the most interesting national parks in Thailand.
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park contains a diverse array of habitats: ten distinctive habitat zones in all. One of the most interesting is the dry limestone mountains. These are sparsely covered by dwarf evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs which grow in the thin soils and on the barren rock. The average rainfall is just over a metre, falling mainly between August and November. This quickly drains away so plants have had to adapt to this unique environment. A mixed deciduous forest, including areas of secondary growth and bamboo grows on the foothills and in the valleys.
Thung Sam Roi Yot, the largest freshwater marsh in Thailand, provides an important environment for a large number of birds, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has recognized these fragile wetlands as a site of global importance. Other areas of habitat include scrub, salt pan, cultivated areas, mudflats, brackish waters, mangroves, sand beaches, offshore islets, and open sea.
The geological characteristic here is very high steep limestone that becomes the high steep cliffs as well as the deep abyss. The highest peak of the hills is 605 meters above the mean sea level. The most fascinating are Khao Yai, Khao Tham Prathun, Khao Daeng, Khao Khan Ban Dai and etc. The limestone land had been worn away by natural impact till became caves or abyss such as Tam Kaeo, Tam Sai, Tam Phraya Nakhon Cave and etc.
Khao Sam Roi Yot has a variety of Flora and Fauna ecology system, composing of sea, beaches, mangrove forests, freshwater, marsh land, and limestone mountain, which make the areas are appropriated to be living place of any kind of animals, particularly birds.
The name Khao Sam Roi Yot can be translated into "The Mountain With Three Hundred Peaks", a series of magnificent grey limestone mountains, which rise dramatically from the Gulf of Thailand and adjacent coastal marsh to a maximum height of 605 m.
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park is the bird-watchers' paradise. The Park's amazingly diversified vegetation and relatively inaccessible terrain make it the home of more than 300 bird species, some of them rare. The Park is also the dwelling place of some peculiar land animals and water creatures like dolphin. The Park is considered by the seasoned travelers as one of the most interesting wildlife habitats in Thailand.
Tourism Attractions Apart from bird-watching, the main pastime in the Park, one can enjoy the time in other ways too. Some other options as following
Trails and Cruise
Hiking trails meander through the park. The Khao Krachom trail takes one to the top of the tallest hill. Steep rocky trails lead to the fine beaches of Sam Phraya and Laem Sala. If one does not want to punt oneself on exertion, boats can be hired from Ban Bang Pu. A popular boat trip is a two-hour cruise along the Khao Daeng Canal. Slicing through wetland habitats and mangroves, the trip is very pleasant experience.
The Caves
Phraya Nakhon CaveThe Park has marvelous caves like Phraya Nakhon, Kaeo and Sai. Adventurous people fond of trekking on rocky landscapes should follow the trail to Phraya Nakhon Cave. It can be reached on walking from Ban Bang Pu or boat.
Interlinked chambers and deep tunnels are two characteristics of Kaeo Cave. Calcite-encrusted walls are illuminated like jewels when seen in lamp-light. Sai Cave is single large cavern where one should enter with lamp to see the nature-designed cave-walls.
The Beaches
Laem Sala is fine sandy beach with limestone hills in close vicinity. Sam Phraya is another beach 5 km from the headquarters. Restaurants are available on both the beaches.
The wooded mountains make it a site of outstanding natural beauty, but it is the freshwater marsh and coastal habitats (an important stopover and breeding area for birds), that gives the park great ecological significance. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park also has great recreational and educational value. It offers the visitor a tremendous variety of attractions. These include fine sandy beaches, spectacular caves, superb mountain viewpoints, offshore islands, forest trails, boat.
Excursions, estuarine and mangrove habitats, all within a relatively small area. This unparalleled variety of habitats makes it one of the most interesting national parks in Thailand.
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park contains a diverse array of habitats: ten distinctive habitat zones in all. One of the most interesting is the dry limestone mountains. These are sparsely covered by dwarf evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs which grow in the thin soils and on the barren rock. The average rainfall is just over a metre, falling mainly between August and November. This quickly drains away so plants have had to adapt to this unique environment. A mixed deciduous forest, including areas of secondary growth and bamboo grows on the foothills and in the valleys.
Thung Sam Roi Yot, the largest freshwater marsh in Thailand, provides an important environment for a large number of birds, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has recognized these fragile wetlands as a site of global importance. Other areas of habitat include scrub, salt pan, cultivated areas, mudflats, brackish waters, mangroves, sand beaches, offshore islets, and open sea.
The geological characteristic here is very high steep limestone that becomes the high steep cliffs as well as the deep abyss. The highest peak of the hills is 605 meters above the mean sea level. The most fascinating are Khao Yai, Khao Tham Prathun, Khao Daeng, Khao Khan Ban Dai and etc. The limestone land had been worn away by natural impact till became caves or abyss such as Tam Kaeo, Tam Sai, Tam Phraya Nakhon Cave and etc.
Khao Sam Roi Yot has a variety of Flora and Fauna ecology system, composing of sea, beaches, mangrove forests, freshwater, marsh land, and limestone mountain, which make the areas are appropriated to be living place of any kind of animals, particularly birds.