"Phu Kradung National Park" a Phu Kradung Travel Page by AlbuqRay

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Sunset Over Phu Kradung

Flat-topped Mountain

This is Thailand's national park on top of a mesa, 1200 meters above the surrounding countryside. It is 135 square kilometers of a cooler climate and the associated ecosystem. To reach its pine forests and grasslands, you must walk, or more specifically, climb 1200 meters in a distance of 5.4 km. This is a non-trivial task and limits the number of visitors.

Facilities are not bad at the top (bungalows, tents, restrooms, restaurants, etc.), and there reststops on the way up to help you survive the climb. I am in fair shape for my age (61); it took me 5.5 hrs. to go up and 4 hrs. to come down. It is beautiful and quiet on top and well worth the effort to get there.

Phu Kradung has bungalows at the bottom near Park Headquarters; however, a much better deal is the private Phu Kradung Resort between the village and the Headquarters. It was a little hard to find but turned out to be great. The staff were friendly and helpful. An air conditioned room overlooking a beautiful lake was 600 B. See also my Hotels & Accommodations tip and associated Phu Kradung Resort travelogue.

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View of Wild Elephant Plateau

A Different World

Up on top, the southern one third of the park has developed trails that you can hike by yourself. In the northern area, what they call the "green forest," you must be accompanied by a Forest Service guide. You can walk along the south rim and see shear dropoffs and spectacular vistas in many places. The plateau below in this picture shows where we saw (and smelled) signs of wild elephants on the way up the mountain. April is the end of the dry season and the flowers were starting to come out (see my Phu Kradung Flowers travelogue). We stayed two nights but it was not enough to see everything. I would think that four nights might be adequate.