So I took my friends advise because every other place they have recommended to me have always been brilliant, so I was not going to doubt there word. Khao Sok National Park and Cheow Larn Lake is about 140km from Phuket town so I decided to take the local Mini Van that travels there quite regularly from Phuket town bus terminal, it would be a 4 hour journey costing me $6 US (200 Baht) and would be dropped of at the Cheow Larn Lake Pier where there are Tail-Boats to take you down through the lake to your bungalow in the national park. The journey along the way in the Mini Van was a little wet and cloudy but that didn't bother me it's monsoon period at the moment and normally the grey clouds hang around a little longer then the rain itself.
I took the 7am Mini Van to get the day started early I arrived at the Cheow Larn Lake Pier in less then 4 hours a smooth ride apart from the little rain along the way at the pier I purchased a ticket for the Tail-Boat to take me down the lake to my bungalow accommodation the cost of the ticket was $12 US (400 Baht) including the entry into the national park and the boat ride was going to be about 45 minutes to my bungalow enjoying the breathtaking views along the way and talking about looking similar to the Amazon jungle it truly was only these mountains were huge limestone mountains protruding out of the lake but it had all the other signs bird singing and wild animal sounds echoing across the lake.
As we were getting further along the lake the day was starting to break into blue patchy skies making the visibility of the stunning lake views more pleasing to the eyes. The story behind the Cheow Larn Lake is that it was man made to serve as a power station to supply electricity to the southern part of Thailand and in order to build this huge Rajjaprapha dam a 165 km area was flooded between the valleys in 1987 and all the little small towns along this pathway were all the residents lived they were compensated to relocate before the area was flooded with water, it is said that the little small towns lie beneath this huge deep lake that covers a area on many kilometers.
It is said that during the process of building the Rajjaprapha dam and the power station that no harm came to the wild life in the process, actually today the wildlife around this massive national park is thriving better then it was before in this massive jungle you will find much wildlife like wild Elephants, Leopards, Tigers, swinging Gibbon Monkeys, Mouse Deer, many species of Reptiles, Amphibians, Insects and about 300 different species of birds. I didn't get to see much of the wildlife you need to be hiking these mountains and valleys for days before maybe you get to see all these animals but in the short hikes around the hills I did see some insects, little reptiles and monkeys.
The Pakarang Cave that looks like hanging growing coral is just another extraordinary attraction in this national park apart from all the beautiful wildlife, flora and fauna the cave is a must see a group of us took a bamboo raft with a tour guide over to the cave once we were on land again, it was about a 15 minute climb up to the cave a little steep and rough needed to be careful you didn't slip on the mushy grounds as it had been raining the cave isn't huge but was a interesting experience rafting down the lake on a bamboo raft it was all worthwhile.
You could spent months in this jungle there is so much to do and see here you can go jungle trekking, canoeing or bamboo water rafting on the lake and there is a Rainforest Camp up on the hills that, they call the Elephant Hills where you can stay in the camp bath and play with the Elephants which I would love to do on my next trip there.
Even though it rained a few hours of the day on the two days I was there it didn't stop me from doing anything, it was still warn and humid the rain was actually refreshing and made the whole valley smell so good with the wood aromas coming out of the jungle. It can be very romantic sitting around in your bungalow or on your floating bungalow, it's definitely a relaxing destination to go if you just want to sit around and do nothing but enjoy the fresh clean air and the astounding views and just eat delicious Thai foods from there awesome restaurant.
Not only was the rain romantic to listen to, the sunsets were as equally romantic as the sun setting over them limestone mountains this is definitely a place I would recommend for honeymooners. I am so happy I came to see Khao Sok National Park and Cheow Larn Lake, it will certainly not be my last trip here.
