• CRUISE: Trip to the heart of Thailand in a rice boat
  • ALBUM: 10 fascinating countries that no one travels to

This tour takes us into the thick jungle that covers southern Thailand . You have to fly to Krabi or Phuket to, after two and a half hours on a winding road , suddenly plunge into the lowlands, the wettest place in the country. Here resides the impressive Khao Sok National Park , where one of the oldest rainforests on the planet grows : more than 160 million years treasure its trees.

An authentic relic of wild life, dotted with spiky limestone formations and crossed by a network of trails that are ideal for walking, while appreciating the native fauna: more than 300 species of birds, 38 varieties of bats and one of the largest (and stinkiest) flowers of any in the plant kingdom: rafflesia kerrii , used for Thai remedies.

Jungle camp

In Khao Sok we also find Elephant Hills , which we could consider the first glamping (luxury camping) in Thailand. An elephant camp where the luxury is to be embraced by the primeval jungle . That and, of course, spending a few days between friendly pachyderms in what is a unique concept: nothing to mount them, use them in shows or perform other activities that may denigrate the animal.

Elephant Hills, jungle pachyderm camp. VALLS / ELEPHANT HILLS

"We attend to ethical reasons", emphasizes Panthipa Wiranghmoo, one of the guides of the enclosure. In exchange they do offer wonderful experiences, which encourage the conservation values ​​of these gigantic meek ones: learning as true mahouts the secrets of their diet and bath (always rubbing them with coconut fiber sponges), as well as interacting with them through games and songs .

Crystalline waters

Also within the park is Rainforest Camp , a floating tent camp on Lake Cheow Lan. You have to arrive by long tail boat (the long-tail boat so popular on the Thai coast) to, once in your suites, abandon yourself to absolute peace with the symphony of the jungle in the background.

Gampling shop at Rainforest Camp.

You can trek through the jungle in search of wild elephants and various species of monkeys. Or take a dip in the crystal clear waters. Or venture out to kayak, which is why every day they leave a canoe outside the store. But the most unforgettable moment will be to watch sunrise, with the mist still suspended over the lake, gradually revealing tropical vegetation and limestone mountains.

| More information at www.turismotailandes.com

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • tourism
  • Asia
  • Thailand
  • Stay at home

EuropeThe King of Thailand quarantines 20 concubines at a luxury German hotel

InterviewA Spanish writer trapped in the Maldives: "It is useless to be in paradise to cure the desire to return home"

# Travel Tomorrow Why Sri Lanka is the closest thing to the Garden of Eden on Earth