Khao Sok National Park

Dear friends, let us continue our incredible journey through Thailand! After visiting the stunning Bridge Hill Cafe, we ventured deep into Khao Sok National Park.

We booked a tour in advance, which I always feel is the safer option, and took a Bolt (Uber-style ride app) to the entrance of the national park. There are plenty of locals waiting there, so you could absolutely arrive without a booking and try to organise a boat on the spot. That said, we opted for a private tour, which took us deep into the national park and even included a stop at a floating pontoon.

The pontoon housed restrooms, a café, and an information centre, and also allowed visitors to go swimming in the water, but unfortunately only while wearing life jackets. Dang those local rules.

To remind you, our base while exploring Khao Sok National Park was the otherworldly Magical Mountain Resort.

Our view every morning having breakfast at the Magical Mountain Resort.

Even if you have a pre-booked tour like we did, you’ll still need to pay the national park entry fee. At the time of writing this blog (January 2026), the fee was 300 Thai baht (around $10 USD / £7) per person for foreigners and 40 Thai baht (around $1.20 USD / £1) per person for locals, so be sure to have cash with you.

If you’ve been following my series of blogs through Thailand, you’ll know I had a bit of a habit of losing hats. A hat was absolutely essential for the iconic Khao Sok longtail boat ride, so I picked up a cheap one from one of the small shops near the park entrance, which I of course lost later.

It’s worth noting that there are a few local shops selling snacks, and there is an ATM in Khlong Village near the entrance to the national park. That said, this is very much a cash-dependent area, so it’s best to come prepared rather than rely on card payments.

Once we’d paid our entrance fee and showed our pre-booked tickets, we were directed down the steps to the wooden pier to meet our longtail boat captain. The friendliness and hospitality of the Thai people never fail to amaze me.

We climbed aboard our private boat and headed deep into the park, gliding through a landscape that will truly leave you speechless. With just the three of us travelling together, hiring a private boat worked out to be roughly the same cost as joining a larger group tour, as we simply split the price between us.

Khao Sok National Park is one of those places that genuinely feels ancient, and that’s because it is. It is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world (yes, even older than the Amazon), this lush pocket of southern Thailand is a mix of towering limestone cliffs, dense jungle, and the surreal waters of Cheow Lan Lake.

The lake itself was created in the early 1980s when the Ratchaprapha Dam was built to generate hydroelectric power. Entire valleys and villages were flooded in the process, leaving buildings, roads, and even temples submerged beneath the water.

Today, those dramatic limestone “peaks” you see rising from the lake aren’t islands at all; they’re actually the tops of submerged mountains. The structures below still exist, preserved under the water, but due to depth, safety concerns, and conservation rules, scuba diving to explore submerged temples or buildings is not permitted. In some areas, the water reaches depths of around 300 feet/90 metres, making it both dangerous and strictly protected.

It was actually quite surprising how fast these little wooden longtail boats can go. One of the best parts about being on a private tour was the freedom to stop for photos whenever we wanted, without having to line up for your one and only shot like we saw happening on some of the other boats. It made the whole experience feel far more relaxed.

Our captain stopped twice at two iconic viewpoints before continuing on towards the midway pontoon for a short break.

The pontoon itself was simple but incredibly cool; being able to walk around while right in the heart of the national park felt pretty special. We chose not to swim, as none of us fancied being in the water with life jackets on. Had swimming without them been allowed, we would’ve been the first ones in.

Instead, we took a bathroom break, grabbed some snacks and a refreshing drink, and simply sat back soaking in the vibes of pure tranquillity.

What makes the landscape even more fascinating is its geological past. These dramatic limestone mountains were once part of a massive ancient coral reef, believed to have been the largest in the world, before tectonic shifts lifted them into the jungle-clad giants we see today.

Khao Sok officially became a national park in 1980, but in a twist of fate, it had already been unintentionally protected for years. During the 1970s and 80s, communist insurgents occupied the area, which kept loggers and developers away, allowing the rainforest and wildlife to thrive undisturbed.

Today, the park is bursting with life, from gibbons swinging through the canopy and hornbills gliding overhead to elephants, bears, and even your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man along with the famously pungent Rafflesia flower, the largest bloom in the world.

As you know, I’m an avid traveller, having visited 95 countries so far, and for some reason, no matter where I go, Spider-Man always seems to find me. I’ve been told on countless occasions that I resemble the original Mary Jane Watson from Kirsten Dunst’s rendition, but even so, Spider-Man has an uncanny habit of appearing wherever I am.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this Spider-Man appeared completely out of nowhere, balanced on a tiny wooden platform no bigger than himself, powered by the smallest engine imaginable. He came straight over to me — no one else — we grabbed a photo together, and then he vanished back into the vastness of Khao Sok just as quickly as he appeared.

One of life’s many mysteries, I guess.

Khao Sok is wild, mysterious, and deeply humbling, a place where nature, history, and human impact are all woven together in the most extraordinary way. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this adventure exploring Khao Sok National Park. In the next blog, I will be actually staying in a floating bungalow right here in the heart of the national park; you won't want to miss this. Until next time, Vegoutt, everybody! 🌿✈️🌏

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