Description

When I got to the Khao Sok National Park turn-off, I was assailed by many and varied guesthouse touts! Being solicited like this is just something that really gets on my nerves, so I waltzed past them to make my own choice further down the access road to the park! This was very easy as, in June there were hardly any other tourists in the park and some of the accommodation had actually closed down for the off-season. One of the jungle resorts that had "closed down" gave me somewhere to stay at a cut-down price of 100 baht; Garden Huts. Nicely positioned overlooking its own fishpond, but it did have trouble with its water supply! As it was rainy season, the 2 main trails were very muddy, but the walking through primary rain forest, reportedly part of the oldest eco-system in the world at over 160 million years old, was peaceful and rewarding. As far as wildlife was concerned, I was "limited" to seeing a few Long-Tailed Macaques high up in the trees, a black scorpion on the trail, 2 small snakes, one catching a fish in the resorts' fishpond, flying lizards and numerous, butterflies, beetles and birds. ${QuickSuggestions} The forest is hot and humid, so the many pools by the cascades along each of the 2 main trails provide a welcome, cooling relief. It's here that you can see quite a bit of bird life, particularly kingfishers and sunbirds. The park entry fee is 200 baht and this is good for 3 days. There is a very basic camping site in the park by the headquarters and also there are small areas for camping just off the trails. It was a bit of a problem finding somewhere to eat in the evenings, but a couple of the resorts on the access road to the park do stay open in the off-season, although I did have a bit of a walk to find one!${BestWay} From Phang-Nga to Kaho Sok, I needed to change buses at Takua Pa. A bus to there from Phang-Nga cost 20 baht and took 1 hour. From Takua Pa, hourly buses to Suratthani take nearly 2 hours to reach the park turn-off for 30 baht. From there you can go with one of the touts in their transport or walk (it's 2 km to the park headquarters with numerous places to stay dotted along the way).