Nam Nao National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติน้ำหนาว, )
is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in
Phetchabun Province
Phetchabun ( th, เพชรบูรณ์, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Loei, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phic ...
in northern
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 a large forest filled with pineries, grasslands, and
jungle
A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja ...
. The park is home to approximately 360 species of birds and 340 species of butterflies. The average annual temperature is 25 degrees Celsius (77°F). Between December and January temperatures drop to as low as 2-5 degrees Celsius (36-41°F).
Nam Nao National Park is part of a Level I "tiger conservation unit" (TCU).
It encompasses .
Geography
Nam Nao National Park with an area of 603,750 rai ~
[
] is located in
Lom Sak,
Mueang Phetchabun and
Nam Nao districts of Phetchabun province and
Khon San district of
Chaiyapum province. Most of the park consists of mountains covered with deciduous
dipterocarp forest
Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fr ...
,
hill evergreen forest,
mixed deciduous forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...
,
moist evergreen forest,
pine forest and grasslands. High mountains in the
Phetchabun Mountains
The Phetchabun mountains ( th, ทิวเขาเพชรบูรณ์, , ) are a mountain massif in Phetchabun, Phitsanulok, Loei and Chaiyaphum Provinces, Thailand. It consists of two parallel mountain chains, with the valley of the Pa Sa ...
include: Phu Kum Kao and Phu Pha Chit, also known as Phu Dan Eupong, the highest peak at and form
Isan
Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...
's border with
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 Thailand ...
. The source of several rivers is in the park, which flows into the
Chulabhorn reservoir.
The national park is neighbouring
Phu Pha Man National Park and
Phu Kradueng National Park
Phu Kradueng National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติภูกระดึง), in the Si Than sub-district of Amphoe Phu Kradueng, Loei Province, is one of the best known national parks of Thailand. It has a high point ...
to the north, abutting Pha Phueng Wildlife Sanctuary to the southeast and
Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary to the south, connected by
Tat Mok National Park
Tat Mok National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติตาดหมอก, ) is a national park in Phetchabun Province, Thailand. Established on 30 October 1998, it is the 87th national park in Thailand. Both park and the waterfa ...
to the south and abutting
Phu Pha Daeng Wildlife Sanctuary
Phu Pha Daeng Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าภูผาแดง;) is a Wildlife sanctuary (Thailand), wildlife sanctuary in Lom Sak District of Thailand's Phetchabun Province. The san ...
to the west.
History
On 12 January 1970 the National Park Board took a decision to designate a national park.
On 3 May 1972 the Revolutionary Council announced: determination of the Nam Nao forest area in Mueang Phetchabun district, Lom Sak district, Nam Nao district, Phetchabun province and Khon San district, Chaiyaphum province to be a national park.
The boundaries of the national park include also the area of Pak Chong Subdistrict and Tha Ibun Subdistrict of Lom Sak District, but they are not mentioned in the publication in the Government Gazette. So a Royal Decree, which mentions the two omitted subdistricts, was published in the Royal Gazette on 26 September 1982.
Since 2002 this national park has been managed by
Protected Areas Regional Office 11 (Phitsanulok)
Flora
![Thailand 429](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Thailand_429.jpg)
Plants in the park are:
Flowers at Nam Nao N.P. include:
A rare ground orchid is: ''
Eulophia
''Eulophia'', commonly known as corduroy orchids, is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Most ''Eulophia'' orchids are terrestrial but some are deciduous while others are evergreen. They ei ...
flava''
Fauna
The number of sightings in the park are:
Fifteen families of mammals, represented by one or two mammal species:
The park has approximately 360 species of birds, of which some 210 species of
passerines
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
from 40 families, represented by one bird species:
![Culicicapa ceylonensis - Mae Wong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Culicicapa_ceylonensis_-_Mae_Wong.jpg)
of which some 150 species of non-passerines from 30 families, represented by one bird species:
![Flying Green-billed malkoha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Flying_Green-billed_malkoha.jpg)
Twelve families of reptiles, represented by one reptile species:
Four families of amphibians, represented by one amphibian species:
![Red Lacewing (Cethosia biblis)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Red_Lacewing_%28Cethosia_biblis%29.jpg)
At least there are 340 species of butterflies, which include:
Places
* Namtok Haew Sai - a high waterfall.
* Namtok Sai Thong - a high waterfall.
* Namtok Tat Phranba - a high waterfall.
* Pha Lom Pha Khong - a high limestone mountain.
* Suanson Dong Paek - a pine forest.
* Suanson Phu Kum Kao - a pine forest at height.
* Tham Pha Hong - a long cave.
* Tham Yai Nam Nao - a long cave.
Location
See also
*
List of national parks in Thailand
National parks in Thailand ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติ) are defined as ''an area that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance''. Thailand's protected ar ...
*
List of Protected Areas Regional Offices of Thailand Since the beginning one hundred years ago, forest management in Thailand has undergone many changes, in form of reclassifications, name changes and management changes. All this has resulted in a division of 16 regions with 5 branches in 2002. Five r ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Nam Nao National Park
Nam Nao National Park
National parks of Thailand
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand)
Phetchabun Mountains
Phetchabun province
Tourist attractions in Phetchabun province
Protected areas established in 1972
1972 establishments in Thailand