Khao Sok: Day 19 to 21

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After relaxing at a beach for long, I headed to Khao Sok National Park.

Khao Sok is a small town which has become popular because of the national park.

Spread over 700 Square KM, the national park is a rainforest hosting a large number of species and is estimated to be one of the oldest rainforests in the world (160 Million years), possibly older than the Amazon Rainforests.

I was staying only a couple of nights and focused on the Cheow Lan Lake. Spread over 180 Square KM, this manmade lake came into being as a result of a dam constructed in the 1980s to produce electricity and provide irrigation/fishing to the surrounding region.

I took a long boat tour on the lake with other tourists (this is a popular tour, I had about 40 people in the group). The tour itself is very well organized.

Apart from a beautiful boat ride through the green/blue waters of the lake, one can swim/kayak on the lake and also do a small hike and explore a cave (did see bats there).

But the most interesting part of the landscape is the 100+ limestone karsts jutting out of the lake, a scenery comparable to Halong Bay in Vietnam.

It's difficult to describe the feeling when you are in the middle of such an old forest, surrounded by karsts that dwarf, a spec in the middle of a large lake. Just reinforces the idea that we are a tiny species in the larger scheme of Earth.

Grateful for the experience and onwards for more.

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Photos

Cheow Lan Lake
Long boats on the Cheow Lan Lake

Three Rocks Cheow Lan Lake
Three Rocks Cheow Lan Lake

Exploring a cave
Exploring a small cave, bats aboard

Cheow Lan Lake
The boat ride through the lake is a great experience

The rainforest
Old trees at Khao Sok National Park