Erawan National Park

Erawan National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Erawan Waterfall
Map of Thailand
Location	Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
Nearest city	Kanchanaburi
Coordinates	14°23′N 99°07′E / 14.383°N 99.117°E / 14.383; 99.117Coordinates: 14°23′N 99°07′E / 14.383°N 99.117°E / 14.383; 99.117
Area	550 km²
Established	1975
Governing body	Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)

Erawan National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติเอราวัณ) is a 550 km² park in western Thailand in the Tenasserim Hills of Kanchanaburi Province, Amphoe Si Sawat in tambon Tha Kradan. Founded in 1975, it was Thailand's 12th national park.

Features

The major attraction of the park is Erawan Falls, a waterfall named after the erawan, the three-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology. The seven-tiered falls are said to resemble the erawan.

There are four caves in the park: Mi, Rua, Wang Bahdan, and Phartat.^[1] Rising northeast of the waterfall area there is a breast-shaped hill named Khao Nom Nang.^[2]

Tier five, Erawan Waterfall

Features of Erawan waterfall

Erawan Waterfall is located in the east side of the park. ^[3] The entire length of the seven tiers span approximately 1,500 m through the thick rainforest of the park. Each of the steps has its own name. ^[4]

The first waterfall – Lhai Keun Lung, is relatively easy, as you can get there on a flat trail, directly from the visitor center’s car park. The highlight of this first waterfall is the great number of fish swimming in the ponds formed by the smooth limestone sculpted by the water.

The second waterfall – Wang Matcha, is usually busier with swimmers. It’s very scenic as there’s a small cave under the falls.

The third waterfall – Pha Nam Tok, this tier is taller than the first two falls (about 20-metre high), and offers a large pond again filled with fish at which you can refresh yourself.

The fourth and fifth waterfall – Oke Nang Phee Suer and Buer Mai Long, feature small cascades and ponds surrounded by rock formations and dense vegetation.

The sixth waterfall – Dong Pruek Sa, where is the trail gets rougher after the fifth tier, and you have to use rickety ladders and ropes to progress through an even thicker lush vegetation. The sixth tier is another multi-tiered cascade featuring a wide plunge at the foot. It takes some more effort to reach the seventh tier of Erawan Waterfall, as the last stretch of the trail is particularly challenging. The seventh waterfall - Phu Pha Erawan, this last fall features the three steps that give their name to Erawan Waterfall. In fact, Erawan is the name of a three-headed Hindu God. It roughly takes three hours to explore the total length of the fall and see the seven tiers.

How to travel ^[5]

From Bangkok

Take the highway route 4 west out from Bangkok and drive 64 km. until you are through Nakhon Pathom and reached the junction to route 323.

Turn right to the route 323 and drive 11 km until you reach the junction to route 3089 before the Mae Klaong River.

On the junction, turn right to continue on route 323 north, and follow the route North West for 53km until you pass Kanchanaburi and reach the junction to route 3199. On the junction, continue straight ahead to route 3199 and drive 58 km until you see the sign into the Erawan National Park HQ. Turn left and drive another 3.4km by following signs to HQ.

By train From Bangkok

Trains leave Bangkok's Thonburi Train Station at 07:50 and arrive at Kanchanaburi at 10:25, also at 13:55 arriving at 16:24. You may be interested in buying a ticket all the way to the River Kwai Bridge, since these two trains are the only ones which cross the bridge each day. Since December 2005, the fare is 100 baht for foreigners.

By bus From Bangkok to Kanchanaburi

BKS public buses (line 81) leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Taling Chan สายใต้ตลิ่งชัน), which is located far west in the suburb Thonburi. In Kanchanaburi, there are two separate but nearby bus terminals, with 1st class buses departing from an office off Thanon Saengchuto, and 2nd class buses from the larger terminal one block east.

1st class buses should leave Bangkok every 15 minutes from 05:00-22:30, take about 2 hours, and cost 110 baht, including a bottle of water.

2nd class buses (new route) leave Bangkok every 20 minutes from 03:30-19:00 and take about 2 hours. Cost 95 baht.

2nd class buses (old route) leave Bangkok every 15-30 minutes from 04:00-18:00 and take about 3 hours.

There are also tourist minibuses directly to/from Khao San Road, departing to Kanchanaburi at 13:30 and 18:30.

There are also some buses leaving less frequently from Bangkok's Northern Mo Chit bus terminal (note: not the same as Mo Chit BTS station, and not within walking distance of it, although a standard 50-baht motorbike ride is available. It's often called "Mo Chit 2"). Here are the times found at the station:

First-class bus with toilet (3 hours, 122 baht): 06:00, 11:00, 14:30 Second class bus with no toilet inside: 05:00, 07:00, 09:30, 12:30, 17:00

Minibus is leave from Terminal 4 regularly, (12 noon was one of the scheduled times) taking 3 hours for 120 baht (July 2015)

Bus rides may be variable or cancelled (for example, with 14:30 being last of the day.) BUT there are vans available at the bus station leaving even when you're told there's no way to get there by bus! (It may help to talk to the information desk for this). Last updated price in 2018 was around 150 baht from Morchit bus station to Kanchanaburi bus station, which is 5.1 km. from the River Kwai Bridge.^[6]

Public services from Kanchanaburi to Erawan Falls

There are regular bus services from Kanchanaburi Bus Station (see map) to Erawan falls, ticket for a single trip costs 50 Baht. Departing from Kanchanaburi to Erawan Falls: 08:00, 08:50, 09:50, 10:45, 11:50, 13:00, 14:10, 15:25, 16:30, 17:50 Departing from Erawan Falls to Kanchanaburi: 05:20, 06:10, 07:20, 08:30, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 17:00

(Departure times between Kanchanaburi and Erawan falls was last updated in August 2017).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erawan National Park.

• National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department
• Erawan National Park - attractions, species, maps
• Attractions of Erawan
• Erawan Waterfall
• Get there
• How to get from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi