Thailand is one of the most visited countries in the world. Over 38 million people visited the Land of Smiles in 2018, making it the ninth most visited nation and a global hotspot. Why are tourists so drawn to Thailand? Well, there is what people call value-for-money destinations—Thailand is more than that! This Asian country is a very cheap destination, but people get to witness scenic nature, enjoy beautiful beaches, get a glimpse of interesting animals, and intricately designed temples. Tourists get so much more than what they pay for.
CNN also ranked Thailand among countries known for its food with special mentions for tom yum goong, massaman curry, and som tum. The international news organization noted how Thai food is the best of many worlds with its hint of Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Myanma influences. Most countries have Thai restaurants because the taste of tom yum, som tum, pad thai, and red curry transcend insular palate.
Thailand also has this carefree attitude when it comes to sex. It has three nightlife districts called pleasure zones: Patpong in Silom, Soi Cowboy in Sukhumvit, and Nana Entertainment Plaza in Sukhumvit. At the other end of the spectrum, Thais are also deeply religious people as evidenced by the hundreds of temples around the country. Most of them, close to 95% of the population, practice Buddhism. Thailand is also known to have some of the largest Buddhas in the world.
The beaches in Thailand are internationally renowned, but these are also balanced by the Thai highlands. Thailand has a land area of 513,120 square kilometers (127 million acres). Around 20% of its territory has been designated as protected natural resources: 147 national parks, 120 forest parks, 67 non-hunting areas, and 58 wildlife sanctuaries.
There are so many places that tourists can visit in Thailand. But for those who prefer the raw scenery, here are the 10 unexplored national parks in Thailand:
1. Bang Lang National Park
Located in Yala Province, this park covers parts of the Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary. This park is one of the undiscovered gems in Thailand since it was once under the Malayan Communists and Patani United Liberation Organization. For a long time, this park was not open to explorers or visitors. It wasn’t until 1999 that the park was established.
The park is home to a naturally thriving plant life. It is mostly a tropical rainforest where the following bodies of water get its source: Pattani River, Sai Buri River, Ban Chet canal, Hala canal, and To Mo canal. The park’s most famous attractions are the animal residents: helmeted and regular hornbills, Sumatran and regular rhinoceroses, tapirs, among others.
The water bodies in the park include Halasa Waterfall, La-ong Rung Waterfall, and Than-to Waterfall. It is also home to the Than To Lake.
2. Chae Son National Park
This park is named after the park’s centerpiece, the Chae Son Waterfall in Lampang Province. The waterfall has six tiers and has a height of 150 meters. Other waterfalls include the three-tiered Mae Peak with a height of 100 meters, Mae Koon that is also at 100 meters, and Mae Mawn.
The park is also home to several caves and hot springs. The Chae Son hot spring hosts sulfurous pools. Nine boreholes emit boiling water. Among the cave systems in the park are the Luang, Loug Kae, Mor, and Pha-ngam. The mountains in the area are part of the Khun Tan Range.
Among the animal species present in the park are the barking and mouse deer, golden cats, langurs, macaques, Malayan flying lemurs, porcupines, serows, Siamese hares, tree shrews, and wild boards. Birds that are common in the area include the barbet, bulbul, dove, green pigeon, red junglefowl, tailorbird, white-rumped shama, warbler, and woodpecker.
3. Doi Luang National Park
This is one of the biggest national parks in Thailand and it traverses the provinces of Chiang Rai, Lampang, and Phayao. It is named after the highest mountain in the Phi Pan Nam Range, which forms part of the park. This Doi Luang (as there is another Doi Luang mountain in the Mae Chai District that stands at 1,426 meters) is 1,694 meters high.
The mountain range is complemented by several waterfalls in the area including Namtok Cham Pa Thong, Namtok Pu Kaeng, and Namtok Wang Kaew. There are also caves near the Pu Kaeng Waterfall, which originated from the limestone. The Nang Phaya Pang Din Fi Cave has some beautifully formed stalactites and stalagmites.
There are thriving trees and plants in the park including native ones. But tourists might be more interested in the animal residents of the park, which include the Asian black and sun bears, bamboo rats, Indochinese leopards, muntjacs, and tree shrews. There are also birds like blue-winged Siva and red-billed blue magpie.
4. Khao Nam Khang National Park
This Songkhla national park provides a different kind of attraction aside from the usual picturesque scenery and lush vegetation—don’t get it wrong, Khao Nam Khang has those too. But it also has more. It is one of the most historically significant areas in Thailand because of its set of deep tunnels carved in the jungles of Khao Nam Khang, within the territory of the park. The tunnels were built by the Chinese Communist army on the Malaysian border in the 1970s.
The tunnels have since been renovated as an attraction to tourists. The tunnels have components of a regular building except they are found underground. There are different rooms and a kitchen plus a firing range.
Above the tunnels, it still is kind of a jungle out there with verdant forests and two majestic waterfalls: Ton Dat Fa and Ton Lat Fa. The mountainous area also serves as the border with Malaysia. The highest point of the range is the Nam Khang peak, which stands over 700 meters.
5. Khao Sip Ha Chan National Park
One of the most popular attractions in Thailand, in general, is the wild monkeys. In some places, the monkeys are just everywhere—they are cute and perky at the same time. Well, this park in Chanthaburi is one of the places where monkeys are abundant but in a more tamed way as they bask in their forested habitat. Other animals in the park are the gaurs, gibbons, and bantengs.
This is also among the list of still undiscovered parks in Thailand, which is all the more reason to visit it as the forest remains largely untouched. It is also home to the Khao Sip Ha Chan Waterfall, from which the park got its name. This waterfall has 15 tiers. The top of the waterfall provides a refreshing panoramic view of the entire park.
6. Lamnam Kra Buri National Park
Among the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand are the beaches because of the beautiful coastline and pristine waters. It is then not a surprise that some of the protected areas in the country are the marine regions.
This marine park in Ranong comprises a group of islands. The aquatic resource is home to crabs, eels, green mussels, mudskippers, mullets, short-bodied mackerels, and shrimps. There are also various species of frogs and toads in the rivers.
The park’s centerpiece is the Kraburi River from which it got its name. The river is the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Part of the river has a mangrove forest while the banks contain some forest reserves. Mangrove forests are also found in Khlong La-un River. These parts are attractive to waterbirds, which are abundant in this park as well. The forest area is also a favorite nesting place for birds including the birds of prey. Birds commonly found in the different areas in the park are the coucals, crows, forktails, hill mynas, hornbills, kingfishers, pigeons, red junglefowl, and woodpeckers.
The islands in the park are the following: Ko Chon, Ko Khwang, Ko Nok Plao, Ko Pling, Ko Siat, and Ko Yao. Other tourist spots in the park are caves, hot springs, and waterfalls.
7. Mae Moei National Park
Rugged mountains and plains—these are the features of this park in the province of Tak. The highest peak in the park is at 1,250 meters high. This is one of the best national parks for camping. There are thick grasses on the ground that provides comfortable bedding and the view at the top is just amazing, particularly during the cooler months when the fog is at its thickest.
Photographers have a great opportunity to capture amazing sunsets and sunrises at the peak—sunrise, especially with the different gradients and colors provided by the vista: white fog, orange skies, dark mountains. Among the animal residents of the park are the common palm civets, northern red muntjacs, squirrels, and wild boars. Among the birds are babblers, barbets, bulbuls, bee-eaters, flowerpeckers, minivets, shrikes, sunbirds, tailorbirds, thrushes, and trogons.
The park is also home to the Chao Doi Waterfall and Mae Salit Noi Waterfall. Another famous attraction here is the Mae Usu Cave with its subterranean river and glittering stalactites and stalagmites.
8. Mae Wang National Park
Chiang Mai is one of the most visited and the second largest province in Thailand. Tourists who want to see a part of Chiang Mai that not a lot of tourists have seen should check out this park. The hilly range of the park is covered by different types of forest ranging from mixed deciduous forest to evergreen forest.
The gallery of forest flank three streams: Nammaejam, Nammaetun, and Nammaewang. Tourists love to take a bamboo raft ride in any of the bodies of water in this park. But the favorite body of water in the park is the Mae Phui Waterfall with falling waters looking like half a dozen showers lined up side by side. The water is very clear as this is one of the undisturbed parks in Thailand. Other waterfalls in the park are the Pha Duk and Pha Moen Waterfalls.
Landforms in the park include the Pha Dang or the 1,909-meter mountain, blanketed with trees but with some bald patches because of the changing climate. There is also the Pha Choi, which is a unique natural structure formed in the area due to erosion.
9. Namtok Huai Yang National Park
Named after its waterfall, this park is located in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The park is home to several waterfalls and not just the imposing seven-tier Huai Yang Waterfall. These falls also provide the main attraction for the park: Bua Sawan, Huai Hin Dat, Kha Aon, and Khao Lan.
The forest area extends to neighboring Myanmar, through the Lenya National Park. Among the animals that reside in the park are the barking deer, Indochinese serows, gibbons, langurs, leopards, porcupines, and wild boars.
10. Si Phang-nga National Park
Birders will love this park in Phang Nga province. The park is characterized by a range of hills covered with evergreen forest. It is home to one of the best varieties of birds including those that are native to Southern Thailand. Birding in this park is perfectly complemented with some hiking. Some trails are leading to the park’s lush forest where birds are abundant.
The park is not just popular among the birds, dusky langurs, and white-handed gibbons are also frequently spotted in the area. Elephants, tapirs, and tigers are also believed to live in the park but they are very hard to spot despite an elephant’s size.
According to birders, the biggest—but not in size—the attraction of the park is the Malayan banded pitta. They said that this type of pitta is the most beautiful among similar species found in the entire country. They are frequently found in the forest trails. The streams in the park are also resting spots for some chestnut-naped forktail, as well as blue-banded and Blue-eared kingfishers. Different species of hornbills also travel as a large flock in this forest.
Serious birders should stay a night or two in the park. There are campsites with views of the forested hills. This way, they can check out the birds very early in the morning, as well as spot some of the species of birds that come alive at night like the Blyth’s and Gould’s frogmouths, and Oriental Bay and Buffy fish owls.