Khao Sok 4-Day Kayak Adventure
Khao Sok in southern Thailand has long been known for its beautiful rainforest and diverse flora and fauna. It’s also the natural habitat of an impressive bird population. Consisting of steep forested limestone slopes, rugged peaks and some smaller areas of lowland habitat, the park offers a spectrum of great birding habitats. In 1986-1987 part of the park was put under water by the creation of the Chew Larn hydroelectric dam. A trip by kayak on this newly formed man made lake is a magnificent experience and allows for splendid views of the forest and limestone rock formations. Kayaking is the ultimate way to explore this national park.
Try to spot some wildlife and birds. Khao Sok National Park is by far the best, responsible eco-tourism program in the south of Thailand. Common wildlife sightings include gibbons, macaque, dusky langur, hornbills and a whole lot more. Enjoy paddling!
Sunrise from your veranda, looking out over the lake, with a hot coffee, getting ready for a day of adventure. Life doesn't get much better than this.
This morning we will pick you up around 8:30am at your Puket hotel and transfer to the dam at Khao Sok National Park reservoir. The drive takes about 3.5 hours. Once at the dam, we will board a motorboat to transfer to the bungalows. The motorboat ride gives you a first impression of the vast lake and it’s truly breathtaking scenery, with high towering limestone cliffs and thick, pristine, tropical jungle. The ride will take about 45min. Upon arrival you can check into your bungalows. These are no ordinaries bungalows. They float on the lake and from your ‘balcony’ you can jump right into the lake for a refreshing swim in the crystal clear water. Your professional guide will teach you some basic paddling techniques and we are good to go for our first paddling excursion. Our first destination is a place we call "Orchid Bay". When you get there, you’ll see why. It’s like something out of Disneyland. We enjoy our dinner in the restaurant connected to the floating bungalows, enjoy the quietness of this special place and enjoy a good night of sleep.
Early rise and shine this morning, we will out to do some bird watching and wildlife sighting. Enjoy the gibbons with their weird and wonderful calls early in the morning. It’s a natural alarm clock. After about a couple of hours on the water, we head back for breakfast and an optional nap. Further paddling instructions follow. In the afternoon, we will head out for another wildlife viewing trip. Watching monkeys frolicking in the jungle canopy is entertaining to say the least. They often make fantastic leaps from tree to tree. Langurs are the most impressive at this. They appear to be fearless. They even make their truly unbelievable jumps when they have babies clinging to their bellies.
Again, do an early morning bird watching and wildlife-sighting paddle. We return to the raft for another delicious breakfast. After breakfast we will start hiking to a unique cave. The walk is not particularly hard and it will take about an hour to get to the entrance of the cave. Inside the cave runs a water stream. After about 30 minutes into the cave we will reach a point where we start to wade in the water, followed by swimming. Don’t worry, it’s easy and absolutely safe. But it is defiantly another memorable experience you won’t forget any time soon. In the afternoon we will paddle to a completely different part of the reservoir.
Don’t worry we will not wake you up early again, today you can sleep in a bit. But of course you can take a kayak and do some paddling on your own if you want to. After breakfast we will start paddling in the direction of the dam, enjoy the final views of this magnificent national park with all its beauty. Snap some last pictures and enjoy the weather. The motorboat will set off from the bungalows around 3pm to pick us up, anywhere we are, on the way to the dam. Board the boat and we will head back to the dam. From here your private transport will take you back to your Phuket based hotel or Phuket airport.
End of this tour.
- Light walking shoes or sport shoes
- Camera and binoculars
- Long trousers and long sleeved shirt for walking in the jungle
- Mosquito repellent
- Transportation
- Raft house accomodation
- All equipment
- Meals as indicated
- Non-alcoholic drinks
- Snacks
- English speaking, professional guide
- Insurance
- Alcoholic drinks
- Personal expenses
- Tips
Accommodation:
The accommodation we use on this tour is not just an ordinary one. We stay in unique little floating bamboo bungalows on the reservoir. The bungalows are very basic. They are made out of low impact material. Bamboo and thatched roofs provide a very simple, environmentally friendly shelter that fits well with the jungle surroundings. There is no electricity in the bungalows. The shared toilets are fairly clean and adequate. The food at the floating restaurant is outstanding. The cooks always serve a variety of tasty Thai dishes. Breakfast favourites include fruit pancakes or the traditional Thai breakfast treat, rice porridge. The bungalow staff is very helpful and friendly. But the best part is the location. In the middle of a man made lake, filled with crystal clear water, ready for you to jump in any time you feel like it. Surrounded by some of Thailand’s most pristine jungle, this place is about as good as it gets when you love nature and adventure. We guarantee this to be a memorable experience for the rest of your life!
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