Attractions in Khao Sok

Khao Sok is A national park on the mainland, about two and a half hours' drive from Phuket. Instead of beaches and boats: Dense rainforest and vertical limestone cliffs that rise from within it.

The forest here is older than the Amazon. It has existed continuously for about 160 million years, and survived the ice age that dried up other forests in the region. In its area live about5% of the world's species.

The heart of the park is Cheow Lan Lake, an artificial lake created in the eighties when a dam flooded an entire valley, and the cliffs that stood in the valley remained standing. This is the landscape known as "Thailand's Guilin."

Anchored on the lake are Floating bungalows, wooden and bamboo houses tied onto barrels, with no road and no signal.

Around there is also A river for canoeing, waterfalls, caves, and trekking trails, and a small village with boutique hotels and pools.

From Phuket, about two and a half hours' drive, and this is the starting point for most travelers. All the prices on our pages are calculated from there.

From Khao Lak, the drive is much shorter, and the price drops significantly. Those already planning the south anyway: A night in Khao Lak before Khao Sok saves both money and four hours of driving.

From Krabi, similar to Khao Lak in distance and price.

and from Surat Thani and the gulf islands, Samui, Phangan, and Koh Tao, there's a cheap shared transfer. Those finishing at the islands and wanting Khao Sok on the way back pay less than everyone.

Write to us how many you are and where you're departing from, and we'll get back to you with your price, transportation is priced per vehicle, so a group pays less per person.

Khao Sok is described as a place inhabited by wild elephants, tigers, sun bears, and tapirs, and all of these are indeed there. But it needs to be said honestly: The chance of seeing them is close to zero. The forest is dense, the animals stay away from people, and the area is vast.

What you do see, and in most visits: Langurs and gibbons in the treetops, troops of macaques, large hornbills in the morning hours, and monitor lizards on the lake's shores.

and timing matters more than luck. The evening safari before sunset and the morning safari before sunrise are the hours when the animals come down to the water. At midday, the forest is almost completely quiet.

In the forest itself, what stands out The rafflesia, the world's largest flower, whose diameter reaches about 80 cm. It blooms for only a few days, mainly between January and March, and only a local guide knows if there's a bloom that week.

And alongside them Giant trees with buttress roots, ferns, orchids, and land leeches after rain, these aren't dangerous, just unpleasant. High socks solve it.