Erawan Waterfall, and along with it the park of the same name, can be safely called one of the most beautiful places in Thailand. It welcomes tourists from all over the world. Can we join them?!
General information about the park
Erawan Park, also known as Thailand’s 12th National Park, is 65 km from Kanchanaburi Province. Despite the fact that both the waterfall itself and the surrounding landscapes have existed for hundreds of years, they were able to turn into a protected area relatively recently-only in 1975. The park covers more than 500 square kilometers and is home to many different exotic animals. These include lizards, elephants, deer, tigers, wild boars, gibbons, king cobras, and others. However, most of them hide in the forest thickets, so you can only see them sometimes. No less interesting is the feathered “squad” of the park. Pheasants, bluebirds, crested birds and snake-eaters, cuckoos and parrots-all these birds scurry around literally before your eyes!
We should also mention the park’s monkeys. Macaques perfectly adapted to life near water and even learned to swim. Despite numerous warnings from the park administration, tourists are happy to feed them various goodies. However, be extremely careful here. Local monkeys are big hooligans. They not only steal packages directly from their hands, but also remove jewelry and various trinkets from vacationers.
Also noteworthy is the unique nature of Thailand’s National Park. Erawan lies on limestone hills, whose height ranges from 165 to 996 m above sea level. They protect the park from the eastern monsoon, so on average it rains a little less here. Another feature of the complex is deciduous, evergreen and dipterocarp forests, which occupy up to 80% of the entire territory. But perhaps the main pride of this place is the waterfall, named after the mythical three-headed elephant. It will be discussed further.
Erawan Waterfall
Erawan Waterfall in Thailand, flowing into a rainforest with wild orchids, is a truly unique sight. It is formed by 2 huge rivers at once – Omtala and Mongalai. Their main advantage is the presence of calcium carbonate, which makes the water in the waterfall shimmer with all shades of green.
Erawan consists of 7 cascades, the height and length of which is 831 and 1700 m, respectively. Each of them has its own characteristics:
- 1st tier. It is strictly forbidden to climb the waterfall with bags and pets, so they will have to be left in specially equipped places;
- 2nd tier. At this stage of the journey, you will have to get rid of all the food supplies. Please note that only water bottles are allowed (1 per person).;
- Tier 3. This place is ideal for swimming. If you are not sure about your abilities, rent a swimming vest. At the end of the water treatments, you can take a shower and then change your clothes;
- Tier 4. If you look at the photo of the Erawan waterfall, taken from a height, you can easily notice large blocks of stones that look like a chest. It is here that you can take better pictures, swim and dive;
- Tier 5. The main feature of this cascade is 2 thresholds. But to get to them, you will have to overcome wooden bridges. Do not forget to bring comfortable shoes – they are easy to slip on;
- Tier 6. As a rule, most tourists end their acquaintance with the Erawan Waterfall at this level. Despite the fact that it is not very comfortable for swimming, here you can get a wonderful peeling from fish from the Pla Pluang family;
- Tier 7. To get to this place, you need to climb a tall cliff on a rickety bamboo ladder. It is very difficult to do this, so not all tourists get here. They say that 7 cascade was chosen by nudists.
Caves of Erawan Park in Thailand
No less noteworthy are the numerous grottoes scattered throughout the complex. Each of them has its own unique puzzle.
Ta Danung
This cave can be called one of the most popular tourist spots in Erawan Park. The entrance to Ta Duang is located on the side of a mountain near the village of Ta Tung. To reach it, you will have to overcome about 900 m. At the same time, you should be extremely careful, since rock collapses occur very often. However, tourists are ready to overcome any difficulties in order to see with their own eyes ancient wall paintings, stone tools, clay utensils and other archaeological finds.
Wang Badan
Wang Badan is a large limestone grotto, which can only be penetrated through a narrow passage. The popularity of this place is explained by two factors at once. First, inside the grotto there are several niches with sparkling stones that look like mythical creatures. And secondly, one of the underground rivers flows here, carrying its waters far beyond Kanchanaburi.
Rua
The Rua Cave, located at a depth of 50 m, has become famous for unique artifacts found here more than 100 years ago. Some of them are wooden sarcophagi made in the form of boats and decorated with images of human heads. These findings give the cave a terrifying appearance and make it look like a set for a science fiction movie.
Mee
Mee, whose name means “bear” in Thai, is located at the southern end of the park. The grotto is quite large – it has as many as 5 spacious halls at its disposal, inside which there are outlandish sculptures made of stones and stalactites. You can get to this place from the village of Tap Sila, but for this you will have to walk as much as 7 km.
Phra Tat
Phra Tat, the entire area of which is occupied by calcareous rocks, is located at an altitude of 730 m above sea level. The grotto is a veritable rock garden, with a stupa-like stalactite at its heart.
Tracking trails
Another special feature of Erawan Waterfall in Thailand is marked hiking trails. The simplest of them, paved, starts from the bus stop and leads to the second tier. Here you can see the homes of spiders, squirrels and monitor lizards.
The second trekking path is located between the third and fourth rapids (look for the left arrow). There are a lot of branches on it, and at the end of the path you will find a noisy rainforest. It takes at least an hour to complete this path (if you don’t wander too much).
The third path, located between the fourth and fifth cascades, runs through a bamboo forest and climbs uphill. Here you will find a steep climb that can take all your strength.
In addition, there are many routes on the territory of the complex that are not marked with markers or signs. One of them is the Khao Hin Lan Phi path, which runs near the fifth cataract of Erawan Waterfall. The ascent will take at least 3 hours.
How to get there from Pattaya?
There are two ways to get to Erawan Waterfall in Thailand. Let’s look at each of them.
Independently on municipal transport
You can get to the park by public transport with or without transfers. In the first case, you must first get to Bangkok South Station. There are several comfortable buses from Pattaya North Station. The ticket costs up to 100 baht, and the journey time is 2 hours. Then you need to transfer to the municipal transport to the village of Kanchanaburi. The ticket price is 50 baht. The journey takes about 1.5 hours. Buses leave every 60 minutes, but during the day they have a long break, so it is better to check the schedule in advance.
If you plan to take a direct flight from Pattaya to Kanchanaburi, find the bus station located at the intersection of 3rd and Central Streets. Here you can buy a ticket 2-3 days before the trip. Its price is about 400 baht. The journey will take at least 7 hours. Two buses depart from the station every day: one in the morning and the other in the evening.
With a tourist excursion “River Kwai and Erawan Waterfall”
This method is the simplest. All you need to do is buy a two-day tour, during which you will be able to see two attractions of Thailand at once – the waterfall and the river Kwai. The program is quite well developed. During these days, you will visit unusual museums and protected areas, spend the night in a hotel on the water, take a raft ride and enjoy beautiful natural landscapes. At the same time, a visit to the waterfall itself takes about 3 hours. The cost of the tour is about 2 thousand baht.
Practical information
- Erawan National Park in Thailand is open daily from 08.00 to 16.30. However, cleaning of the upper level of the waterfall begins around 15.00, so you may be asked to descend to the lower tiers a little earlier than the specified time.
- The entrance fee for adults is 300 TNV, for children-200 TNV.
- For more information, please visit the official website of Erawan Park: https://www.thainationalparks.com/erawan-national-park.
Useful tips
Those who are planning to enjoy the beauty of Erawan Park in Thailand will surely benefit from these helpful tips:
- The largest number of visitors falls on weekends and public holidays, so if you want to avoid a large crowd, choose a quieter time for your visit;
- From April 13 to 15, the park hosts Songkran, an annual festival where water fights are held on all 7 tiers of the waterfall. Once on this holiday, take care of special impermeable covers for cameras and mobile phones;
- You can move around the park either on foot or by rented bicycle (20 TNV).;
- In addition, in the tourist center area, you can rent sleeping bags (25 TNV), two-and three-person tents (150 and 250 TNV respectively), pillows (10 TNV) and sleeping mats (20 TNV).;
- Please note that outside of level 2, it is forbidden to consume food and drinks brought with you. If you want to drink, buy a bottle of water-it costs 20 baht. The money will then be returned to you in exchange for an empty container. This is done so that tourists do not leave behind mountains of garbage;
- The best time to visit Erawan Park is in the early morning – then there are fewer people here;
- When planning your trip, don’t forget to check the weather forecast. The fact is that from May to October, it often rains in Thailand, and from February to April, there is a terrible heat wave, which also does not encourage long walks. For this reason, the so-called cold season, which lasts from November to January, is an ideal way to explore Erawan.
Erawan Waterfall is worth visiting for tourists who want not only to relax lazily on the beaches in Thailand, but also to see the exotic beauty of the country.
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