Doi Luang National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยหลวง) is one of the biggest

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

Northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thail ...

. It covers the Mae Suai, Phan and Wiang Pa Pao districts of Chiang Rai Province, Wang Nuea and Ngao of

Lampang Province Lampang ( th, ลำปาง, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. The old name of Lampang was ''Khelang Nakhon''. Geography Lampang is in the broad river valley of the ...

as well as Mae Chai and Mueang Phayao of Phayao Province.

Description

Doi Luang National Park, with an area of 730,927 rai ~ is located in the northwesternmost mountain chains of the

Phi Pan Nam Range The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, ( th, ทิวเขาผีปันน้ำ) is a long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. It is mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is w ...

and was established in 1990 by combining the area of four existing parks. 1,426 m high Doi Luang, a mountain located towards the northern end of the park in

Mae Chai District Mae Chai ( th, แม่ใจ, ) is a district ('' amphoe'') of Phayao province in northern Thailand. History The District Mae Chai was abolished on 23 December 1917 and was incorporated into Mueang Phan district. It was recreated as a minor d ...

, should not be confused with Doi Luang, with an altitude of 1,694 m the highest mountain of the Phi Pan Nam Range, that is located about 30 km further south in the same mountain chain. The sources of the

Wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

and the Lao River are in this mountainous area. The park also has rugged rock formations and scenic

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s such as Namtok Pu Kaeng, Namtok Cham Pa Thong and Namtok Wang Kaew.Trekthailand - Doi Luang National Park
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Flora and fauna

Trees in the protected area include ''

Mesua ferrea ''Mesua ferrea'', the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful sha ...

'', ''

Hopea odorata ''Hopea odorata'', or ta-khian ( th, ตะเคียน), is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a large tree reaching up to 45 m ...

'', ''

Toona ciliata ''Toona ciliata'' is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Names It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), toon or toona (also ...

'', '' Lagerstroemia tomentosa'' and '' Irvingia malayana''. Animals in the park area include the

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...

sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a species in the family Ursidae (the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'') occurring in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest bear, standing nearly at the shoulder and weighing ...

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

, the

Indochinese leopard The Indochinese leopard (''Panthera pardus delacouri'') is a leopard subspecies native to mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. In Indochina, leopards are rare outside protected areas and threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation as w ...

bamboo rat The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the subfamily Rhizomyinae. They are the sole living representatives of the tribe Rhizomyini. All are found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. The species are: *The Chinese bamboo rat, '' ...

, tree shrews; among the birds the blue-winged siva and the

red-billed blue magpie The red-billed blue magpie (''Urocissa erythroryncha'') is a species of bird in the crow family, Corvidae. It is about the same size as the Eurasian magpie, but has a much longer tail, one of the longest of any corvid. It is long and weighs . T ...

deserve mention.

References

External links

DNPDoi Luang National Park - Tourism Thailand

{{authority control Geography of Chiang Rai province Geography of Lampang province Geography of Phayao province Tourist attractions in Chiang Rai province Tourist attractions in Lampang province Tourist attractions in Phayao province National parks of Thailand Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Thailand Phi Pan Nam Range

Description

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links