By Rama Gaind
Thailand’s majestic national parks are spectacular, but one that’s captivating in particular is the Khao Sok National Park. It houses the Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp in Cheow Larn Lake.
Located in the midst of a water world where privacy prevails, along with 100 islands, you will be spellbound by nature’s spectacular backdrop.
It’s all about adventure, romance, seclusion and being attuned to nature.
The estimated 740sqkm of park is a perennial green, covered in vegetation and is dotted with gigantic limestone mountains.
Together with wild elephants, the dense jungle is home to gibbons, monkeys, colourful hornbills, Asian ox, clouded leopards and a small number of bears and tigers.
You can base yourself at any of the two Elephant Hills camps of repute: the first is the luxury tented jungle camp with10 floating tents, while the main camp has 30 safari tents. Both are very comfortable with all the necessary conveniences. One couldn’t ask for anything more amid this splendid untouched, ancient rainforest.
Documentary film
Now this wonderfully enchanting environment will be the subject of a documentary. Elephant Hills and the Rainforest Camp hosted a BBC crew last month to film a new documentary in Khao Sok National Park.
Presented by Iain Stewart, the ground-breaking documentary on the Cheow Larn Lake will, no doubt, prove to be an remarkable showcase of the park and lake.
Iain Stewart is a Scottish geologist, television and radio presenter and professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth, who has won acclaim for his awe-inspiring BBC documentaries on our planet and the forces that shape it.
Wonderful sightings
In the meantime, a communiqué from Elephant Hills management reveals the sighting of the rare gaur (wild Asian ox) and other wildlife spotted at Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp!
The “extremely rare gaur was spotted” just a short canoe ride away from the Rainforest Camp on the Cheow Larn Lake. Indicated as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List, this species is “believed to have only between 13–30,000 individuals” (at a rough guess) “left across Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Lao PDR, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. This number is even less than the estimated population of Asian elephants in south-east Asia, which is between 30-50,000 individuals, and the Asian elephant is classified as ‘Endangered’.”
The statement went on to elaborate: “There are 2 subspecies in Thailand and this individual is of the bos gaurus hubbacki subspecies which is the rarer of the two. There are no estimates for how many remain in Khao Sok, but this sighting is evidence that they are still here”.
“Let’s hope they continue to roam the forests of Khao Sok and surrounding areas for generations to come and that we are lucky enough to see more soon!”
Staff at the Rainforest Camp were lucky enough to be able to take some pictures of wildlife in their midst. They can be viewed on this page.
Perhaps, you will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some of these amazing creatures on your next trip to Elephant Hills and the Rainforest Camp.
DETAILS BOX
Getting there
Contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Sydney, on (02) 9247 7549 or visit www.tourismthailand.org
Fast facts, visit: http://www.tourismthailand.org/about-thailand/
Flight details
Thai Airways International flies 42 flights a week between Australia and Thailand
with easy connections to Thai’s domestic network.
Check out: www.thaiairways.com.au
Elephant Hills Thailand – Thailand’s first luxury tented camps
Email: [email protected]
This macaque is amongst trees at Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp in Thailand. 
- See this musk at Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp in Thailand.
