Khao Lak–Lam Ru National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติเขาหลัก–ลำรู่) is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in Phang Nga Province,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The park is named for two of its mountain peaks, Khao Lak and Lam Ru. It also encompasses beaches and forests.

Geography

Khao Lak–Lam Ru National Park is north of

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

city and south of

Takua Pa Takua Pa ( th, ตะกั่วป่า, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in Phang Nga province in south Thailand. Geography The district is on the Andaman Sea coast. To the north of the district is Si Phang Nga National Park. The southern part ...

. The coastal area here is typically referred to as "

Khao Lak Khao Lak ( th, เขาหลัก, ) is a series of villages, now tourist-oriented, mainly in the Takua Pa District and partly in the Thai Mueang District of Phang Nga Province, Thailand. The name "Khao Lak" literally translated means 'Mai ...

". The park is just off Route 4 (

Phetkasem Road Phet Kasem Road (, , )ราชบัณฑิตยสถาน. ''อ่านอย่างไร และ เขียนอย่างไร ฉบับราชบัณฑิตยสถาน.'' พิมพ์ครั้งที่ ...

). Khao Lak–Lam Ru park covers parts of four districts: Kapong, Mueang Phang Nga,

, and

Thai Mueang Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode bloc ...

. The park's area is 78,125 rai ~ and its highest peak is .

History

Originally the park was a seashore park, but in 1984 it was extended to encompass the forested and mountainous area inland and for protection of the province's main

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. On 30 August 1991, Khao Lak–Lam Ru became Thailand's 66th national park. The December 2004

Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

caused high casualties in Khao Lak. Due to its location and shoreline terrain, the area suffered the

worst The Worst or Worst may refer to: * ''The Worst'', a 1997 album by Sarcófago, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2000 album by Tech N9ne, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2004 EP by Lower Class Brats, or its title track * "The Worst" (On ...

of any area in Thailand, with over 4,000 deaths.

Attractions

The park has numerous large waterfalls, the largest of which is Lam Ru Waterfall, a waterfall of 5 levels and year-round water flow. Other waterfalls include Lam Phrao, Hin Lat, and Ton Chong Fa. The coastal park section at Khao Lak sea shore offers very clear waters and clean, quiet stretches of beach.

Flora and fauna

The park's forest is tropical evergreen forest, including such tree species as ''

takian ''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 ...

'', ''

Dipterocarpus '' D. retusus'' in Köhler ''Dipterocarpus'' is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. ''Dipterocarpus'' is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for ...

'', ''

Alstonia scholaris ''Alstonia scholaris'', commonly called blackboard tree, Scholar Tree, Milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tropical tree in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). It is native to southern China, tropical Asia (mainly the Indian subcon ...

'', ''

Magnolia champaca ''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family Magnoliaceae.

'', and ''

Anisoptera costata ''Anisoptera costata'' is an endangered species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The name ''costata'' is derived from Latin (''costatus'' = ribbed) and describes the prominent venation of the leaf blade. A huge emergent tree up to 65 m h ...

''. Palms,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

, and

epiphytes An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

such as

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s and

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s grow widely throughout. Nearer the seashore, species such as

cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cult ...

trees, ''

Barringtonia asiatica ''Barringtonia asiatica'' (fish poison tree, putat or sea poison tree) is a species of ''Barringtonia'' native to mangrove habitats from islands of the Indian Ocean in the west to tropical Asia and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is g ...

'', and ''

Pandanus fascicularis ''Pandanus odorifer'' is an aromatic monocot species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to Polynesia, Australia, South Asia (Andaman Islands), and the Philippines, and is also found wild in southern India and Burma. It is commonly known a ...

'' (screw pine) flourish. Smaller mammal species include

colugo Colugos () are arboreal gliding mammals that are native to Southeast Asia. Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates. There are just two living species of colugos: the Sunda flying lemur (''Galeopterus variegatus'') and the Philippine fl ...

binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining popu ...

, and

Malayan weasel The Malayan weasel (''Mustela nudipes'') or Malay weasel is a weasel species native to the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Description The Malayan weasel is reddish-b ...

. Other animals include

banded surili The Raffles' banded langur (''Presbytis femoralis''), also known as the banded leaf monkey or banded surili, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia. The species underwen ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

Asian tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under '' Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

, sambar,

Asiatic 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, sou ...

black giant squirrel The black giant squirrel or Malayan giant squirrel (''Ratufa bicolor'') is a large tree squirrel in the genus '' Ratufa'' native to the Indomalayan zootope. It is found in forests from northern Bangladesh, northeast India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, ...

, southern red muntjac,

common treeshrew The common treeshrew (''Tupaia glis'') is a small mammal in the treeshrew family Tupaiidae, and is native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it remains common and displays some adaptability to on ...

chevrotain Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only ...

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

. The park is home to various reptile species including

Bengal monitor The Bengal monitor (''Varanus bengalensis''), also called the common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial a ...

and

Malayan pit viper :''Common names: Malayan ground pit viper, Malayan pit viper, Malayan ground snake, Malayan moccasin. ''Calloselasma'' is a monotypic genus created for a venomous snake, venomous Crotalinae, pit viper species, ''C. rhodostoma'', which is Endemism ...

. Bird species in the park include

crested serpent eagle The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...

white-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

emerald dove The common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. ...

, scarlet minivet,

bushy-crested hornbill The bushy-crested hornbill (''Anorrhinus galeritus'') is a bird in the hornbill family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. File:Anorrhinus gal ...

, and

oriental pied hornbill The oriental pied hornbill (''Anthracoceros albirostris'') is an Indo-Malayan pied hornbill, a large canopy-dwelling bird belonging to the family Bucerotidae. Two other common names for this species are Sunda pied hornbill (''convexus'') and Mala ...

. Other birds include

great argus The great argus (''Argusianus argus'') is a species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related crested argus, genus ''Rheinardia''. Taxonomy Carl Linnaeus gave the great argus its specifi ...

streaked bulbul The streaked bulbul (''Ixos malaccensis''), or green-backed bulbul, is a songbird species in the bulbul family (Pycnonotidae). It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland f ...

, maroon woodpecker,

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus'') is a tropical bird in the family Phasianidae. It ranges across much of Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. It was formerly known as the Bankiva or Bankiva Fowl. It is the species that gave rise to the ...

ashy drongo The ashy drongo (''Dicrurus leucophaeus'') is a species of bird in the drongo family Dicruridae. It is found widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia with several populations that vary in the shade of grey, migration patterns and in th ...

, common myna, and barbet.

Gallery

File:Deep forest wilderness of Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, Thailand.jpg, Wilderness of Khao Lak-Lam Ru forest Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, Rainforest, Thailand.jpg, Jungle Tropical evergreen jungle, Khao Lak, Thailand.jpg, Evergreen rainforest Khao Lak Beach, Thailand.jpg, Khao Lak Beach File:Khao Lak, Andaman Sea, Thailand.jpg, Andaman Sea, Khao Lak

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park National parks of Thailand Geography of Phang Nga province Tourist attractions in Phang Nga province 1991 establishments in Thailand Protected areas established in 1991

Geography

History

Attractions

Flora and fauna

Gallery

See also

References

External links