Kaeng Krachan National Park (and a Peacock farm)
July 5, 2026
Kaeng Krachan is a UNESCO world heritage site and Thailand’s largest national park. It is 170km south of Bangkok and borders Burma on its western edge.
Our reason for staying in Kaeng Krachan was to see birds and wildlife. It’s known to be an excellent place for bird diversity. It also has wild elephants, leopards, langurs and gibbons. We didn’t expect to see everything, but half of the excitement is not knowing what you are going to see.
We stayed on the outskirts of the national park in Kenaray Farmstay. When I had originally booked, it never occurred to me to ask what they farmed. Only two days before our arrival, while looking-up the address did curiosity enter my head and I checked. OK, I didn’t expect that…..it’s a peacock farm! More on that in a bit.
What to see in Kaeng Krachan National Park
The park is all about nature trails and slow walking. Guides can be hired, but we preferred to wander at our own pace, following marked trails. Without guides, the trails all start from Ban Krang campsite. A car is needed to get to this point as it is far from the actual headquarters on the lake. Entrance passes for the day can be bought on the road in (300 Thai Baht).
Kaeng Krachan - The Nature Trail
We went on two separate occasions and did two different walks. One, “The Nature Trail”, was only a 2km walk through forest running alongside and crossing the river several times. 2km, I hear you say, that’s not much. I think it took us 3 hours to do the there-and-back-again walk.
Wildlife spotting is all about a slow and quiet meander. It’s more of a crawl than a walk; eyes and head constantly moving around, looking up, looking through foliage, ears alert for the slightest sound and lots of stopping….”what was that sound?”, “I saw something move over there” and ….. wait. Observe some more. Listen some more. Is it worth it? Yes. The thrill of “finding” something and then identifying it is one of my favourite things. Clark’s is to photograph it too, his favourite kind of photography is wildlife. And then the observation of animal or bird behaviour. Fascinating. Even more so when we’re on our own and seeing it ourselves. It feels like we’re the first explorers and these animals and birds are being discovered by us alone. I apologize for the enthusiasm. It’s a definite passion.
What did we see on this “tiny” walk? Well, we lucked out with some white-handed gibbons. A first for us and we believe we were watching two siblings literally hanging-out in the trees. Photos please Clark.
Kaeng Krachan - The road to the Dam
In all our years bird and wildlife spotting we’ve found that early morning and quiet roads and tracks are the best for seeing what’s out there. You have a path where you don’t need to constantly look at your feet to navigate, meaning your eyes can be searching for wildlife. There is also space to spot things. Walking in the forest, views are often obscured by the dense foliage and lack of room to see anything that isn’t right in front of your nose. The road to the dam was perfect for spotting. Hardly any vehicles with a fairly wide and even, dust-covered surface. What did we see?
Once again the gibbons were forthcoming as well the spectacled langur monkey (with their very cute ginger babies). We saw and heard so many birds. And we could also hear elephants breaking branches as they loped through the forest. Alas, we didn’t see the elephants, but even the sound so close to us was exhilarating.
The joy of peacocks
It’s no secret that I love all birds. But I didn’t realise how little I knew about peacocks. What did I know? They’re exotic birds originally from India. Imported to western countries mainly as ornamental show-off objects for the aristocracy. They’re ground birds with a very loud cry.
Our accommodation - The Bird House
We soon realized it was called the bird-house because we were literally located above the peacock enclosures…..there’s more. On our first evening, we learned our first new “peacock fact” – they roost in trees. There were peacocks in enclosures, but also roaming free around the grounds and as dusk crept up they each flew to the lowest branches of the tree (tree-house tree) and then walked up various branches to get to their “favourite “perches for the night. Thankfully once it was dark they were peaceful sleepers. Mostly. There was one evening when we were sitting on the balcony and decided to put some music on the (very nicely provided) Bluetooth speaker. We didn’t realise the volume had been left on “extra loud!”. Once the music started (loudly), all the peacocks in the farm began crying out….then the dogs started barking. Oops. They really are loud.
On the first morning we were greeted by several free roaming peacocks. Hang on, they don’t look the same. Peacock fact number 2. There are Indian peacocks, which are the ones we would mostly see in England. Then there are Green peacocks, which are native to South East Asia. They are similar greens and blues with the amazing tails, but a little taller and the females are the same colours, unlike Indian peacocks where the ladies are brown. I have since seen there is another species, the Congo peacock. Alas, not present at our farm. To add to this there are many other sub-species. One of which is the White peafowl, a genetic mutation of the Indian peacock. Here we saw pure white but also a hybrid that was part white and part Indian traditional colours. He really was very magnificent.
What else is there to do in the area?
Kaeng Krachan Lake
- Take a boat ride on lake – We had heard it was possible to take a boat ride on the lake so drove on over to where we thought boats would be waiting. No boats. We went to the dam, got a bit lost and then a scooter went past us and asked if we wanted a boat trip on the lake….ok then. A 45 minute tour is what is offered, but it’s enough time to get a feel for the lake, the small islands dotted about and the abundance of macaques who live on the islands.
- Parking at the edge of the lake there’s a large picnic area and a very pretty suspension bridge over to an island. Ever eager to stretch our legs we had a wander. It was worth it for the views and lovely scenery.
Kaeng Krachan town
Kaeng Krachan town – although the food at our accommodation was great, it’s always worth stepping outside and seeing what’s around. Kaeng Krachan town didn’t disappoint. The restaurant we chose had a fantastic terrace overlooking the lake at sunset. This is also the restaurant where we discovered spicy thai deep fried fish….yum.
Early morning birding in Kaeng Krachan
With a bit of research I found a house nearby that offered morning birding in their garden. We were told to arrive at 5.45am (yawn…this is meant to be a holiday!). Once there we were seated in the garden facing a log with food strategically placed for the birds. And…..wait. Patience and quiet are required when watching for birds. Most of the time there is nothing occurring, which to some may sound terribly boring, but when a stunning, previously unseen (by us) bird makes an appearance, it’s all worth the waiting. Actually, even if we have seen the particular species before, we’re still absolutely delighted to watch (me) and photograph (Clark). The evidence please Clark….
Kaeng Krachan was only the second stop on our Thailand road-trip and it was our first multi-night stop. It’s quite nerve-wracking choosing a place to stay for 4 nights and not knowing if it’s going to be ok. I guess if it was a disaster we could always move along.
Luckily our 4 nights were a real treat and highlighted how being on our own steam and having the ability to go wherever were absolutely the right choice for us.
Where next? Thailand is still fresh in my mind and there are so many more places that we visited on our road-trip. I’m writing this from Italy, so who knows whether the Thai adventures will continue to inspire or whether the Italian explorations will take centre stage. Watch this space.
