Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai National Park อุทยานแห่งชาติ เขา ใหญ่
Coordinates: 14 ° 24 ′ 0 ″  N , 101 ° 22 ′ 0 ″  E
Location:	Nakhon Ratchasima , Thailand
Next city:	Nakhon Ratchasima
Surface:	2172 km²
Founding:	September 18, 1962
Visitors:	827.204 (as of December 2011)
Address:	POBox 9, Amphoe Pak Chong, Nakhorn Ratchasima, Thailand 30130
Haeo Suwat waterfall

The Khao Yai National Park ( Thai อุทยานแห่งชาติ เขา ใหญ่ ) is a national park in Thailand . It was the first national park in Thailand and opened on September 18, 1962. Since July 14, 2005, the "forest complex of the Dong Phaya Yen mountain range with the Khao Yai National Park" has been on the UNESCO list of world cultural and natural heritage .

history

Landscape in the Khao Yai National Park

A major contributor to the establishment of this first national park was Boonsong Lekakun (born December 15, 1907 in Songkhla , southern Thailand , † February 9, 1992 in Bangkok ), one of the founders of the Wildlife Fund Thailand and at the time the country's most famous conservationist. When after the Second World War hunters with modern weapons almost wiped out the population of tigers and crocodiles in Thailand and more and more teak trees in the jungle areas of Thailand were cut down without afforestation, Boonsong became active. It took him nearly ten years to get his idea of ​​a nature reserve through with the government by writing hundreds of letters, writing articles in magazines, translating scientific journals and even having a regular slot on the radio program. It was only Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat that gave him a hearing after talking to Dr. Boonsong had flown in a helicopter over the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains and saw the destroyed forest areas. In 1962, for example, the National Park Act was passed. Since then there have been a total of 138 correspondingly protected areas (2003).

Location and topography

Tree towering over the canopy in the national park

The Khao Yai National Park is located in the Sankamphaeng mountain range ( Thai ทิว เขา สันกำแพง ), with its largest area in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat). Parts are also in the neighboring provinces of Saraburi , Prachin Buri and Nakhon Nayok . It is the third largest park in the country with 1,355,396 Rai (about 2172 km²).

The park shows different types of landscape, such as evergreen dry , rain and cloud forests as well as grasslands with over 2000 different species of flora. The highest peaks are the Khao Rom with 1351 meters, Khao Lam with 1326 meters and the Khao Keaw with 1292 meters, while most of the park is formed by a sandstone plateau with heights between 600 meters and 1000 meters. In addition, here is the headwaters of five rivers: the Nakhon Nayok in the south, the Lam Takhong , the Praploeng in the north, the Prachin Buri and the Muak Lek .

World Heritage Site

The Khao Yai National Park, along with four other protected areas, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Dong-Phaya-Yen and Khao-Yai Forest Complex since 2005 . The total protected area is 6155 square kilometers (615,500 ha).

• Khao Yai National Park: 216,800 ha
• Thap Lan National Park : 223,600 ha
• Pang Sida National Park : 84,400 ha
• Dong Yai Game Reserve : 31,300 ha

climate

As a result of the somewhat higher location, the temperatures change somewhat more over the year than in the rest of Thailand. The average temperature is 23 ° C. The mean annual rainfall is around 3000 mm.

The climate is tropical - monsoonal with three seasons: the rainy season lasts between May and October and feeds the waterfalls to an amazing size, the cool season lasts from November to February (around 22 ° C day and 10 ° C night temperature) and the hot season from March to April with temperatures up to 35 ° C.

Flora and fauna

flora

The vegetation of the national park is divided into five categories:

• Dry mixed deciduous forests

These forests are located on the north slope of the park, at an altitude between 400 and 600 meters. The following tree species can be found there:

• Afzelia xylocarpa
• Pterocarpus macrocarpus also Burmese padouk
• Lagerstroemia calyculata , ( Thai : ตะแบก Tabaek )
• Pterocymbium javanicum
• Gmelina arborea
• Large thorn bamboo , Bambusa arundinacea

• Evergreen dry forests

This type of forest is located in the east of the park in the provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima and Prachin Buri, at an altitude of between 100 and 200 meters. Here you can find z. B .:

• Dipterocarpus alatus
• Tetrameles nudiflora from the Tetramelaceae family
• Vatica cinerea
• Hopea odorata
• Marantaceae phrynium from the arrowroot family
• Numerous soil plants of the ginger family ( Zingiberaceae )

• Tropical rainforests

The tropical rainforest, which is at an altitude between 400 and 1000 meters, covers the main area of ​​the park. Here you can find u. a .:

• The critically endangered trees Dipterocarpus dyeri , Dipterocarpus baudii and Dipterocarpus gracilis
• Neolamarckia cadamba or Anthocephalus cadamba from the family of the redness plants (Rubiaceae)
• Dendrocalamus longispathus from the genus Dendrocalamus
• Freycinetia sp. from the genus Freycinetia
• Stenochlaena palustris from the family of the rib fern family

• Evergreen mountain forests

From a height of 1000 meters, the vegetation changes noticeably, the wing fruit plants ( Dipterocarpaceae ) decline sharply here, these are replaced by naked-seed plants ( Gymnospermae ), these are e.g. B .:

• Oleander- leaved stone slices ( Podocarpus neriifolius )
• Podocarpus imbricatus
• Dacrydium elatum from the genus Harzeiben ( Dacrydium )

• Grasslands

fauna

A wild Asian elephant on a road in the national park

A total of 72 different mammal species are found in Khao Yai. Together with three neighboring national parks, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the reserve complex is home to 112 species of mammals. The park is particularly a refuge for large mammals such as the Asian elephant and Indochinese tiger , which are already extinct in many parts of Southeast Asia. The park also offers a home to rare wild cattle. Around 150 Gaure and around ten specimens of the rare Bantengs live in the park. Occasionally there are also unconfirmed reports of occurrences of the wild water buffalo . The total number of elephants is estimated at around 300 animals. Other large herbivores are the sambar deer and forest goat antelopes . Among the numerous predators are leopard , clouded leopard , marbled cat , leopard cat , Asiatic wild dog , binturong , smooth-coated otter , Asiatic and Malaienbär emphasized. The monkeys are represented by the crab monkey , pig monkey , bear macaque , crested langur and two types of gibbon ( white-hand gibbon and the rare cap gibbon ). 358 different bird species can be observed in the national park. In a cave on the edge of the park, about one million live bats , which are derived from insects feed.

Worth seeing

The Chao Phor Khor Yai Shrine is located on Thanarat Road km 24 and is a place of worship for the faithful.

Of the numerous waterfalls in Khao Yai are:

• Haew Narok waterfall: in the north of the national park, with a height of 80 m, a spectacular sight, especially in the months of the rainy season (May to October).
• Namtok Sarika Waterfall: Located in Nakhon Nayok province with a bathing lake at the foot, which is appreciated by Thai tourists.
• Haew Suwat Waterfall: at the end of Thanarat Road, 20 meter high waterfall on the upper reaches of Lam Takhong with lush flora ( orchids bloom from March to May), the bathing lake can be dangerous during heavy rain.
• Khong Kaeo - Rapids: a smaller waterfall on Lam Takhong, about 100 meters from the park administration on the border of the provinces of Nakhon Nayok and Nakhon Ratchasima.

Sambar deer in the national park

Worth mentioning

The number of park visitors has increased in recent years. In 1966 there were around 41,000 visitors, in 1996 there were already over a million. Most of the visitors are day trippers from the provinces in the area up to Bangkok , who can hike the park on over 50 signposted paths.

literature

• Vasa Sutthipibul et al. a. (Ed.): National parks in Thailand. National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok 2006, ISBN 974-286-087-4 .
• K. Chayamarit, Ch. Puff: Plants of Khao Yai National Park. National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok 2006, ISBN 974-463-146-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ dnp.go.th ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 15, 2013. 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Wildlife at Khao Yai Flora and fauna Vegetation in the Khao Yai National Park. (English, accessed on November 13, 2011; PDF; 580 kB)
3. ↑ data sheet size. Thorn bamboo
4. ↑ IUCN List Vatica cinerea
5. ^ IUCN list Hopea odorata
6. ^ IUCN list Dipterocarpus dyeri
7. ^ IUCN list Dipterocarpus baudii
8. ^ IUCN list Dipterocarpus gracilis

Web links

Commons : Khao Yai National Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Khao Yai National Park  - Travel Guide

• Description of the Khao Yai National Park by the Thai "Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation" in English [last accessed on October 15, 2013]
• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).