Erawan National Park - Thailand's national parks are now gaining recognition in national travel awards. Designed to honour those who promote the conservation of nature and culture and contribute to sustainable tourism development, tourism awards are beginning to give recognition to national parks which are demonstrating their capacity to foster eco-tourist activities.
Erawan National Park, located northwest of Bangkok in the Tenasserim Mountain Range, Kanchanaburi province, has been recognised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in the 2006 Thailand Tourism Awards in the Natural Site - Central region category.
Considered one of the country's finest natural attractions, Erawan National Park is best known for its seven-tiered waterfall topped by a rock formation shaped like a three-headed elephant. From its crest, clear water tumbles in a series of cascades to rock pools shaded by dense foliage.
Your first opportunity to identify the park comes compliments of Google Earth's satellite images. You will quickly spot an enormous mass of water, an inland sea surrounded by ranges in Thailand's western region. Formed by the Sri Nakharin Dam, built across a craggy narrow gorge, this vast reservoir covered valleys, created islands and ultimately forced rural communities to resettle on higher ground. It now constitutes the northeast border of the park. This is a mixed tropical forest with seasonal evergreen trees, almost unbearably hot in April but pleasantly cool from November to February.
From the dam, the picturesque River Kwai Yai gently meanders through a limestone gorge marking the park's eastern border.
For most of the year torrents of water plunge over the high ledges, dropping 1,500 metres in seven cascades, each more difficult to reach than the one before for those visitors prepared to follow the trail to its crest. At its base, river fish inhabit rock pools unperturbed by visitors.
Recognised as Thailand's second most popular national park after Khao Yai, the park's waterfall is its best known landmark and the main reason why thousands of visitors add the 65-kilometre trip from Kanchanaburi town to their trip.
It is a 700-metre walk along a trail from the line of shops and restaurants in the car park, to the waterfall's second level. Here a refreshing pool beckons hikers to remove their boots and soak their tired feet in the cool water, before resuming a two-kilometre climb along trails cut from the dense foliage and maintained by park officials. Some visitors go no further. They soak or swim in the pool, shaded by trees or enjoy a picnic lunch served on moss-stained timber tables that stand under giant teak trees.
Serious trail walking begins here if you are to reach level three where torrents of white frothing water cascade over a rock face. Of all the levels, number five is considered the most dramatic as the water tumbles over several terraces. Approximately half way through the trek, a lookout point provides a welcome respite from the climb and an inspiring panoramic view of the lush verdant landscape.
The tough one-hour climb ends at level six where the trail disappears. From here, you must climb a ladder like structure to the left of the waterfall and then cross a stream for the last 100-metre climb to the top where you can witness the surge of mountain water tumbling over the edge in a dramatic 1,500 metre descent to the base pool. The best time to visit the falls is during the rainy season from May to October when the water level is high and the cascades are at full force. Due to the park's popularity - there are an estimated 60,000 visitors each year - the narrow trail is often crowded during the peak hours just before lunch on weekends and public holidays.
The park is the first stop for group excursions that travel through the two picturesque valleys of the rivers Kwai Yai and Noi enjoying treks, river rafting and a train ride along the viaducts of the River Kwai rail track.
Eco-tourism visits take in more of the Erawan National Park than its popular waterfall. The objective is to observe the diversity of a park that covers 550 square kilometres in a region where forested hills rise almost 1,000 metres high.
Caves are another of the park's attractions. A visit to Phra That Cave, twelve kilometres from the headquarters, ranks as the most popular. A 480-metre long trail ascends to the cave's entrance, where you enter a dark subterranean world of limestone domes sculpted by the incessant seepage of stream water. Over the centuries, mineral-laden droplets of water have fashioned stalagmites that rise up from the cavern floors. The ceiling glistens in the torch light, with stalactites arrayed like organ pipes in a cathedral.
Apart from the white-handed gibbons residing near the waterfall trail, sighting the park's wildlife requires patience and the skill of park guides. It involves at least a two-night stay in the park's bungalow accommodation and the support of an eco-tourism travel enterprise to make it all worthwhile. There are 10 bungalows close to the headquarters and food market, while hardy travellers can rent a tent for 150 to 300 baht a day depending on the size.
Much of the wildlife is elusive and nocturnal by nature, making it difficult for visitors to record sightings. On paper, the park is home to the Indian elephant, the tiger, wild boar, sambar deer and an array of smaller creatures such as the Siamese hare and red flying squirrel.
Over 75% of the park is covered in mixed deciduous trees, but there are also tracts of bamboo forest suggesting an era of reforestation, possibly dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when Burmese armies journeyed south from the Three Pagodas Pass along the banks of the River Kwai Noi and Yai. Close to the park, there are spots that mark where historic battles were fought to defend Thai soil against the invaders.
On the outbound trip to Erawan National Park, a stop is possible at the Ninth Army Battle Historical Park Museum that stands on a hill, 40 kilometres from Kanchanaburi town, where one of those battles was fought. A curator takes visitors around the exhibit displaying the battle scene and plays a video to illustrate the significant role the two river systems and the hilly terrain once played in Thai history.
As Thailand strives to achieve sustainable tourism, Erawan National Park ranks among the champions of Thailand's dynamic tourism industry who are committed to enriching the lives of visitors as well as that of the host communities.
Services provided by the Erawan National Park are of universal standard. Golf carts are provided for the elderly and disabled who wish to visit the waterfall. To preserve its natural beauty and pristine environment, areas within the park are carefully zoned and designated for various activities, such as dining and drinking, to reduce littering.
