THAILAND’S ANCIENT JUNGLE
One of the world’s oldest rainforests, outdating even the Amazon, Khao Sok National Park is one of Thailand’s standout attractions.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Rugged mountains, waterfall-washed rainforest, lakes as large as cities, leaves as big as duvets, limestone karsts looming as tall as skyscrapers... Khao Sok National Park is a natural wonderland. It’s also home to 48 species of mammals, including wild elephants, sun bears, muntjac deer and fluffy black and white langurs, as well as hundreds of different species of birds, reptiles and amphibians.
The best bit is it’s all easily accessible from Phuket, but with barely a tourist in sight. Spend your days long-tailing across Cheow Lan Lake to secret cave temples, on walking safaris in search of elephants, or plugged into a rubber ring floating down a real-life lazy river. Accommodation options include simple treehouses in the basic but brilliant Our Jungle House (khaosokaccommodation.com) and the dreamy floating rooms at Elephant Hills Tented Camp (telegraph.co.uk/tt-elephant-hills-hotel).
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET… Spotting an elephant in the wild. A century ago, elephants roamed Siam in their hundreds of thousands; now there are estimated to be just 3,000 to 4,000 scattered across Thailand’s national
parks. If you’re lucky enough to see one of these magnificent creatures, you’ll remember it to your dying day.
INSIDER TIP
One of the park’s many claims to fame is that it is home to a botanical giant, the Rafflesia kerrii, the world’s largest flower with a blood-red bloom that reaches a diameter of 40in.
If you want to hike to see one, the flowers tend to open during the rainy season (May to November) but only for a few days.
HOW TO DO IT
There are no direct scheduled flights
between Britain and Phuket. Finnair (finnair.com), Emirates (emirates. com), Etihad (etihad.com) and Qatar Airways (qatarairways.com) have flights involving one stop from various UK airports. BA (britishairways. com), Thai Airways (thaiairways.com) or Eva Air (evaair.com) fly there via Bangkok. Accommodation providers within the park usually offer return private car transfers for the threehour drive from Phuket.
There are travel restrictions in force throughout the UK governing trips both within the country and
abroad. For more information, see gov.uk/ coronavirus; gov.scot/ coronavirus-covid-19; gov.wales/coronavirus •
For more information and
advice on holiday bookings during the
pandemic, see telegraph.co.uk/
tt-covidtravel