Looking to take a vacation to Thailand? One of the best points is to visit Khao Sok National Park. This place is within the top visited destinations in 2023 with an estimate of around 347.32 thousand tourists making it the highest year post-COVID for travelNonetheless, the majority of the travelers, particularly the newcomers do not utilize their vacation to the fullest. This article explains all necessary details about what to do when on a Khao Sok holiday in Thailand. Let’s go on a learning journey into this heaven on earth destination.
1. Visit Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary
One such unique site worth visiting in Khao Sok elephant sanctuary is Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary. This sanctuary tends to restore and protect the elephants that have resided in this area. In this area or region, there are places where you are require to go, especially while on a vacation in Khao Sok. Most of them are retire and are old; hence, spend their time idling around. There are various tours available that allow you to take on an exploration of this place. It includes the following activities:
⦁ Eating the elephants
⦁ Taking pictures with them
⦁ Make traditional Thai dishes and enjoy them
⦁ Ride the elephants or take a tour of the park with them
These tours have different timings, where the first batch starts at 8.30 AM. You can avail of various Khao Sok Holiday packages to take part in these excursions for Khao Sok Holiday. For example, a 1.5-hour deal costs around 1,200 baht per person and half a deal starts around 2,100 baht per person. There is a short 40-minute package that is also available that is priced around 500 baht per person.
Note that these big animals are quite afraid of water. Therefore, visitors should not throw water on them or they may get fined. The number of elephants keeps on varying – for now, there are only 2 of them for visitors.
Pro Tip: There are various elephant sanctuaries in the country that don’t offer genuine experience. For example, the Win Elephant Tour is also a famous point. However, they are known to rent elephants just for the show and rent the visitors. Do your research before going on any similar hike.
2. Explore Coral Cave
Coral Cave or Pakarang Cave is one of the most famous caves in the place. It is a 400-metre-long abyss with an average height being around 15 metres and a width is around 10 – 12 metres. This cave got its name because of stunning stalactites and stalagmites that are made of minerals and are quite similar to the underwater corals.
If you have added this place to your travel bucket list, the best thing to do is hire a private guide. They can teach you about the history of this cave, its curves, and its significance. Most importantly, there are various sites in the caves which are slippery; having a guide can help you seamlessly explore the place.
To reach this cave, you need to take a 45-minute boat ride from Cheow Lan Lake pier. To add to that is a 20-minute hike. However, the beautiful interior, sparking corals, and underground waterfalls are worth this much struggle.
3. Get a Relaxing Thai Massage
If you are tired from a full-day excursion, you must be tire. The best thing that can be done here is to get a relaxing Thai massage. Various points near Khao Sok National Park offer this relaxing therapy. A few of them are given below:
⦁ Aunchalee Thai Massage
⦁ Silk Thai Massage
⦁ Bussaba Massage
⦁ Ying Thai Massage
⦁ BEE BEE massage Khao lak
Before going to any massage centre, ensure that you have made an advanced appointment and are satisfie with their charges. Some centres may ask for hidden fees – be sure to discuss everything to avoid any issues later on. An average Thai massage can take around 2 hours and cost 300 – 500 baht per person.
4. Go on One Day Trip to Cheow Larn Lake from Khao Lak
Cheow Larn Lake is a 185 sq km man-made lake in Khao Sok National Park in Khlong Saeng River. Having an emerald-coloured water, this lake offers breathtaking views. Being one of the top visiting sites, many travellers often go to this lake to spend a busy day. You can either ride a boat in this lake or enjoy kayaking. Apart from that, many adventurous activities are also available. For instance, you can also go swimming in the lake as it is quite safe and water quality is also good.
To go to this lake, you can take various tours – via different waterways. For instance, Klong Ka is the easiest way to reach this water pool. Klong Long is the most famous and busiest route, taking almost 2.5 hours from the Lake’s Southern tip. While solo planning for Cheow Larn Lake, keep in mind the timings – which are around 8 am to 5 pm. You can also plan for a night tour, but you may need a night safari for this. The rainy season lasts from May to October, so the most advisable time to visit the lake is between the months of December and April.
5. Soak in Nearby Top Attractions
Khao Sok Park is not the only place to see during your Thailand holiday packages, but there are many nearby places that you can go and visit. Here is a list of the famous nearby attractions:
Tiger Cave Temple
The temple is a Buddhist structure situate northwest of location Krabi. This temple is place at a mountain peak where the altitude is 309 meters over sea level. Being so above, visiting this temple offers a unique experience. From above, one can take in the entire island. Which seems to be surround by astonishing views and lush tranquility. However, to get to that particular site, a person has to climb an exhausting set of 1260 steps which would take anywhere between 25 – 45 minutes. But the ascend is worth the struggle, as you get to see the religious site, which is the temple. On top of that, you get to see the cave, having famous tiger paw prints.
Hong Island
You should never miss out on hopping on an island in case you do travel, and Hong Island Krabi should be sorely ignored. Situated within Krabi town, not only is this the place for some of the best islands in the country, but it is also the most beautiful. In fact, many people even rate this place better than Phi Phi Islands. Being so popular, you may see a huge number of visitors on this island. Karsts cliffs, beautiful sights, a much awaited 360 panorama viewpoint, and even an emerald one make the island really attractive. It’s worth mentioning though that Bronze Island is a private island and charges 300 baht for adults and 150 for children for a visit between 8am to 4:30 pm.
Coconut Beach
Coconut Beach is a popular beach in Thailand that is quite famous for its high volume of coconuts. To meet the demands set out by tourists, there are quite a few cafes, hotels and bars available at this location. Here, you can either just relax in the sun, or engage in these exciting water activities such as swimming, diving, or snorkelling This beach is great because it is quite shallow and does not contain a lot of marine life, hence kids can swim here without any safety concerns.
The quick summary is that Khao Sok is the National Park of the country. This 700 square kilometres long forest offers a wide range of wildlife as well as adventures. If you are planning to see this place, you can go and see elephant sanctuaries, Cheow Larn Lake, Coral Cave, or nearby attractions, such as Tiger Cave Temple, Coconut Beach, Hong Island, etc. Grab luxury holiday packages from Virikson Holidays to explore this natural heaven on a budget.
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