A day out searching for bears at Namtok National Park

A new place too many, including us, found tucked away in the south east corner of Thailand in the Chanthaburi province. It was around 190 KM from where we stay in Pattaya; a drive that took around 3 hours as not all the roads are so great, and a bit slower than some of the more major highways such as those in and out of Bangkok.

In fact you could stop off here on your way to popular destinations like Koh Chang & Trat. If you enjoy nature, hiking, and really getting away from it all, it would be well worth the small detour off highway 3. Especially in lower seasons; as when we went, a few days before Songkran holidays, the park was very empty indeed.

Where to start…..well, we only saw a small part of the park in all its glory as we only went in via the Phlio waterfall entrance where there was the waterfall, a nature trail, some coffee shops, some wildlife, flora and some rocky pond areas where you can sit, wade, and let the fish brush past your legs.

The waterfall is pretty good, with a high level of water crashing down, at least there was when we went, but maybe in a drier season you might find it slower. You can swim/dip in the pond under the falls, sit on the rocks and enjoy the sights and sounds or just take photos from behind at the view point area.

Along the aftermath of the falls, there are several small ponds where you can again take a small dip and put your feet in with the fish. They are very accustomed to people sitting with legs in the water and thus you will find them brushing against your legs and seeing if there is anything to eat with this alien object. Anyway, you get the general idea from the pictures of how the set up is and what is on offer here.

Up toward the waterfall we found this old Chedi from 1874 and a statue, but like any amateur tourist I totally forget to note who this person was, though no doubt she is related to the Chedi being there in some way. The old chedi was covered in moss and had a slight tilt such was its age. They have kept it very nicely in its natural condition and that makes it a great site to see.

Coffee time at the aptly, if not slightly uninventively named ‘Namtok Phlio Coffee Shop’. Name aside, it is a nicely presented place with covered seating with fans, and an outdoor area of seating right alongside the rocks and waterways from the waterfall. Cost was reasonable, 60 Baht for my Thai Iced Tea with Milk and 60 Baht for my good ladies Iced Latte. The next day we paid 110 Baht for two hot lattes, so good value here. We also stopped for an Ice Cream cone, 30 Baht for two and they were very nice.

On the second day we decided to brave the 1.2km nature trail. I am very glad I did, but it was harder than I expected; partly as I am an out of shape 52 year old smoker. The trail is a lot of uneven rock, mud, broken bits of tree hopping, climbing up and down. I wore trainers; should have brought proper hiking boots. I managed OK, but proper footwear would have made things easier. At one point the trial turns into a sheer climb up some rocky bits where you have to also climb using a rope tied to a tree. A bit nervy, but not as hard as it first looked.

The nervy part came when we went back to the starting point of the nature trail to take a picture of the map and noticed that there is a point that states you need to be careful and atchful for bears at point 4! That’ll teach me to read maps first. There we some obviously dodgy creepy crawly type things lurking here and there, but bears, hell no.

At the end of the trail I was drenched in sweat from the humidity of the jungle. It was hard. If you have an accident or got bitten by something nasty, you could have a problem. This is why at the start of the trail it advises you to inform a park ranger type of guy that you are going to do the trail. We did have a phone signal, and I did a live video while in the trees that you watch on this link here.

A few things I really liked about this park. The well presented and looked after restrooms, coffee shops and huts that blended into the surrounds nicely. The well landscaped pathways, not the usual tonnes of concrete, but instead nice read and grey natural stone floors and paths. The signage, even on some of the trees to tell you what type of tree it was you were hugging. The eatery stalls on the approach road leading to the park.

Where we stayed. The Ing Khao Resort

We chose the THB 1,000/night room. It was quite new so very clean and in good condition. It had an android TV box but being low on tech skills for this sort of thing I could not find any western TV Channels, but then I was not there to watch TV. The AC was whisper quiet, the bed hard but I like that. The shower and bathroom facilities were very good. No kettle in the room, was a bit of a downer, but we booked on the basis of peace and quiet and that is exactly what we got.

Read my trip-advisor review here

Other useful links:

http://park.dnp.go.th/visitor/nationparkshow.php?PTA_CODE=1010

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/namtok-phlio-national-park