Khao Sok National Park
Khao Sok National Park is a beautiful nature reserve located in southern Thailand. Covering more than 700 square kilometers, it is one of the most impressive, also one of the oldest, rainforests in the world. The park is dotted with lush green forests, towering limestone cliffs, crystal clear rivers and an abundance of exotic flora and fauna.
In my opinion, a place not to be missed during your trip through Thailand. The highlight of the National Park is Lake Cheouw Lan, where countless beautiful limestone rocks tower high above the water. Plus, you can go for an extra unique experience by spending the night on the lake. More on that in this blog!
How to get to Khao Sok?
Khao Sok is located in Surat Thani province about 1.5 hours from the city of the same name, Surat Thani. The national airport in Surat Thani is very small, a plane ticket cost me € 44 including 15KG luggage from Bangkok (Don Mueang).
From the airport I traveled to the center of Surat Thani, then bought a bus ticket to Khao Sok through Phantip travel for 280 Baht. I was dropped off at the beginning of the long road with ho(s)tels and restaurants and then had to walk for about 10 minutes.
The road to Khao Sok is largely characterized by palm trees all along the way!
What to do in Khao Sok?
In Khao Sok itself you won't find much more than a long street with various places to stay (hotels, hostels and more luxurious resorts), restaurants, tourist shops and mini supermarkets. You can also rent a scooter in a few places to explore the nearby area, such as a viewpoint near the junction to the long street of Khao Sok.
If you navigate from the long street in Khao Sok towards the viewpoint you will arrive at another viewpoint after less than 1KM, as far as I am concerned this one is nicer than the one indicated on Google Maps. It is not very far from the long street in Khao Sok, so if you want to stretch your legs you can do this just fine.
However, most travelers go to Khao Sok to visit Khao Sok National Park on Lake Cheow Lan. To visit the lake you need a tour at all times, where you have a few options. The most common two options are:
- One-day tour of the lake (08:30 - 19:00)
- 2-day tour with overnight stay on the lake
My choice: One-day tour
On the one-day lake tour, you will spend a total of about 6 hours on the lake. Although you will be picked up early, it is still an hour's drive and on the way you will stop for 30 minutes at a "local market." This market is nothing more than some large stores selling dry bags, water shoes, waterproof cases for phones and various other items you might need on the lake.
Once you get to the pier, it also takes a while, so your patience will be tested. Once on the longtail boat you will soon forget this, as the view is stunning!
Destination 1 are the widely known Guilin rocks, about 3 beautiful rocks. I didn't find it that special, but you only stop for a few minutes for a photo. Then you head towards the caves, but I skipped this as I didn't find it very special and wanted to fly the drone.
Meanwhile, it's lunchtime, for which you head towards one of the bungalow resorts. I found the lunch from our Jungle Tour organization very mediocre compared to the way it was advertised.
The food was simply tasteless (unless you put a lot of chili sauce on it). After lunch 1.5 hours for swimming and kayaking, then the boat left for a small jungle trek.
In the rainy season there is much more water coming out of the waterfall, when I was there in the dry season it felt more like a time-filling activity. After this trekking, the boat leaves at 4:15 p.m. back towards the pier, returning an hour later.
The lake was really beautiful (and I'm happy with the drone shots), but otherwise the tour was somewhat disappointing. They would have been better off offering half a day, as I personally find such caves and jungle "treks" too time filling activities. Maybe more of a personal experience since I don't have much with tours, but this hopefully helps with the expectations management piece!
2-day tour including overnight stay
The program on the 2-day tour looks partly identical, where you have 2 more safaris (evening and morning) to spot monkeys and special birds, among others. Furthermore, you can enjoy the tranquility and nature while enjoying the sunrise in the morning. Delightful remote!
Cost:
- 1-day tour: 1,500 baht
- 2-day tour: from 2,500 Baht (including overnight stay).
With the experience of the 1-day tour, I would have liked to stay overnight on the lake, but unfortunately, given the tight travel schedule in the south, I didn't get out. Still tricky to plan a trip well, but I'm definitely glad to have visited Khao Sok nonetheless!
By the way, both tours don't include the National Park entrance fee: 220 Baht.
And more in Khao Sok
You can get a view of the lake from Rajjaprabha Dam, but as far as I'm concerned there is nothing quite as unique as sailing across it yourself. Furthermore, the road there is not very good, so getting there by scooter will take you about 1.5 hours.
- Enjoy a delicious smoothie at this sweet little lady who also runs a laundromat and minimart. I couldn't find the location on Google Maps, but it's on the main street of Khao Sok near the Bamboo Gold Restaurant.
- At the Bamboo Gold Restaurant you can also go for a good plate of Thai food.
