Khao Yai National Park – The Green Lung of Thailand

Established in 1962, Khao Yai National Park is the first and third largest national park in Thailand. Primarily located in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Khao Yai extends into the provinces of Prachinburi, Saraburi, and Nakhon Nayok.

Khao Yai National Park – The Green Lung of Thailand

Khao Yai National Park covers an area of 2,168 square kilometers, including evergreen forests and grasslands. Khao Rom, standing at 1,351 meters, is the highest peak in the park. The average elevation of the national park ranges from 400 to 1,000 meters above sea level.

Khao Yai is part of the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai forest complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising 5 protected areas stretching from Khao Yai to the Cambodian border. Other protected areas include Pang Sida National Park, Thap Lan National Park, Ta Phraya National Park, and Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Khao Yai National Park area experiences the rainy season from May to October with high humidity, peaking in September. The remaining months of the year are relatively dry. November to February marks the cooler winter months with average temperatures of 22°C during the day and dropping to 9-10°C at night.

This is the best choice for observing mammals in Thailand. Besides Kui Buri National Park, Khao Yai is where the largest concentration of wild elephants in the land of the Golden Temples can be found. Some of the mammals here include northern pig-tailed macaques, barking deer, sambar deer, gibbons, porcupines, civets, sun bears, Asian black bears, binturongs, otters, jackals, and wild dogs.

According to records, there are about 440 bird species in Khao Yai. This is where you can find the largest hornbill communities in Thailand. You can see great hornbills and oriental pied hornbills flying over the central tourist area daily.

The rare red-headed trogon, uncommon in Thailand, is found in Khao Yai National Park. Other rare and valuable bird species include: Austen's brown hornbill, white-browed piculet, Blyth's shrike-babbler, pitta, Japanese paradise flycatcher, coral-billed ground cuckoo, and northern goshawk.

Junglefowl are very common and can be seen daily along the roads in Khao Yai. Other common ground-dwelling bird species include silver pheasants, scaled quail, and Siamese fireback pheasants. The best time to observe birds here is during the dry months and from March to April, when large migrations occur.

Khao Yai also boasts a fascinating reptile system, with over 85 recorded species to date. There are three pit viper species in the national park: Vogel's pit viper, large-eyed pit viper, and white-lipped pit viper. Other rare snake species include Gibson's wolf snake, Nganson pit viper, and Joynson's kukri snake.

The Chinese water dragon, a medium-sized lizard, can be found along streams. There are several other interesting lizard species such as brown tree dragons, white-eyed tree dragons, Reeves's butterfly lizards, Cambodian water snakes, Yunnan dwarf geckos, striped flying dragons, speckled flying dragons, and Reeves's butterfly lizards.

As per Mytour

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Source: Travel guide from Mytour