Bueng Chawak ( th, บึงฉวาก, ) or full name Bueng Chawak Chaloem Phra Kiat (, ) is a natural freshwater lake in

central Thailand Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) by ...

. It has an area of 2,700 rais (1,067 acres), covering the area of the sub-districts Pak Nam, Doem Bang and Hua Khao of Doem Bang Nang Buat District, Suphan Buri Province all the way to the sub-district of Ban Chian,

Hankha District Hankha ( th, หันคา, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the southwestern part of Chai Nat province, central Thailand. History Originally the district was named ''Doem Bang Kao'' (เดิมบางเก่า). It was renamed in 1911 to ...

, Chai Nat Province. The lake is approximately north of

Suphan Buri Suphan Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers ''tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The town ...

City.

History

The lake was declared a non-hunting area in 1983. In 1996, on the occasion of the 50-year reign of King

Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

, the government developed this area as a tourist attraction in honour of His Majesty the King. A public aquarium as well as a zoo and bird park have been created. Later in 1998, the government registered Bueng Chawak as an important wetland under the Ramsar Convention. The surrounding lake is beautiful and shady. A large flock of migrating lesser whistling ducks and other waterfowls flies in during the cool season from November to March, and departs again in April. On the shores of the lake, bungalow-style accommodations are available to tourists.

Sights

*Bueng Chawak Chaloem Phrakiet Aquarium: consists of two parts: a section showing freshwater fish species and a section showing marine fish species. The highlight is the longest and largest shark tunnel in Southeast Asia. *Bueng Chawak Zoo: exhibit tigers, lions, white tigers, leopards, clouded leopards, camels, axis deers, dwarf cows, bears, cute rabbits and cavies, peafowls and pheasants. Aviary that occupies an area of 5 rais (1.9 acres), high, with more than 40 species of rare birds, is a highlight. *Crocodile Pond: a part of the aquarium. It is a breeding ground for two Thai native crocodiles, the

Siamese crocodile The Siamese crocodile (''Crocodylus siamensis'') is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered an ...

and the estuarine crocodile. There are products made from crocodile for sale as souvenir, such as leather bags, leather belts as well as local OTOP handicrafts. *Bueng Chawak Folk Vegetable Park for Subsistence: a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

on an area of 26 rais (10 acres), on an island in the middle of the lake. There are learning point for shade plants, folk vegetables and herbs to treat symptoms. It is also a collection of more than 500 types of folk vegetables such as

snake gourd ''Trichosanthes cucumerina'' is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety ''T. cucumerina'' var. ''anguina'' raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the redd ...

s. In addition, the entrance to the lake, there are also stalls selling dried freshwater fish of the villagers. Most of them are fish species from the central river basin such as

Tha Chin The Tha Chin river ( th, แม่น้ำท่าจีน, , ) is a distributary of the Chao Phraya river, Thailand. It splits near the province of Chai Nat and then flows west from the Chao Phraya through the central plains, until it empt ...

and Chao Phraya, many of which are rare in Bangkok such as freshwater sole, river tonguefish,

bagrid catfish The Bagridae are a family of catfish that are native to Africa ('' Bagrus'') and Asia (all other genera) from Japan to Borneo. It includes about 245 species. These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes. Many large bagrid ...

, etc.

See more

List of protected areas of Thailand This is a list of protected areas in Thailand: National parks in the Thai highlands * Chae Son National Park * Doi Chong National Park * Doi Inthanon National Park * Doi Khun Tan National Park * Doi Luang National Park * Doi Pha Hom Pok Nat ...

* List of Ramsar wetlands of Thailand

References

External links

* category:Lakes of Thailand Geography of Suphan Buri province Geography of Chai Nat province Tourist attractions in Chai Nat province Tourist attractions in Suphan Buri province category:Non-hunting areas of Thailand category:Aquaria in Thailand category:Zoos in Thailand category:Botanical gardens in Thailand {{coord, 14.9177015, N, 100.0594309, E, source:wikidata, display=title