Phu Phan National Park ( th, ภูพานอุทยานแห่งชาติ) 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 Sakon Nakhon and

Kalasin Kalasin ( th, กาฬสินธุ์) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2015, it has a population of 34,429 It covers the whole ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a loca ...

provinces,

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 ...

. This isolated park covers a wide jungle area in the

Phu Phan Mountains The Phu Phan mountains ( th, ทิวเขาภูพาน, , ) are a range of hills dividing the Khorat Plateau of the Isan region of Thailand into two basins: the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin. The silhouette ...

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 ...

Geography

Phu Phan National Park is located south west of Sakon Nakhon town and about north of

. The park's area is 415,439 rai ~ .

History

In the past, the isolation of the park's location led to its use for cover by some military groups. During World War II, the

Seri Thai The Free Thai Movement ( th, เสรีไทย; ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region. Background ...

resistance fighters used the Tham Seri Thai cave for weapons storage. And in the 1970s the People's Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) used the area as a hideout.

Attractions

Viewpoints in the park include the west-facing Nang Mern Cliff and the Lan Sao Aee plateau. The park has numerous waterfalls, including the multi-stage Kam Hom Waterfall, also Kreng Ka-arm and Pree-cha Suk-san waterfalls. Some of the park's unusual rock formations include the grilled-snake-shaped Khong Ping Ngu and the long Tang Pee Parn natural stone bridge. The park also contains the ruins of a Khmer temple, Phra That Phu Pek, accessed by ascending around 500 steps.

Flora and fauna

The park consists of

seasonal tropical forest Seasonal tropical forest, also known as moist deciduous, semi-evergreen seasonal, tropical mixed or monsoon forests, typically contain a range of tree species: only some of which drop some or all of their leaves during the dry season. This tropic ...

, with a large dry dipterocarp forest component. Other forest tree types here are dry

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

and mixed

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. Tree species include ''

Dalbergia cochinchinensis ''Dalbergia cochinchinensis'', the Thailand rosewood, Siamese rosewood, or tracwood, ( th, พะยูง: ''Phayung'' ; Vietnamese: Trắc (or Cẩm lai nam bộ); Khmer: ក្រញូង: ''Kranhung'' ; Lao: ກະຍູງ: ''Kayung'' ; ...

'', ''

Pterocarpus macrocarpus ''Pterocarpus macrocarpus'', or Burma padauk, is a tree native to the seasonal tropical forests of southeastern Asia: in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has been naturalized in India and the Caribbean. Description ''Pterocarp ...

'', ''

Shorea roxburghii ''Shorea roxburghii'' is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is native to Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. Common names * Malay: ''temak'', a name it sometimes shares with ''Shorea hypochra'' * th ...

'', ''

Afzelia xylocarpa ''Afzelia xylocarpa'' is a tree from Southeast Asia. It grows in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in deciduous forests. It can reach 30 metres tall with a trunk up to 2 metres in diameter in a mature specimen. Uses The seeds are harv ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Dipterocarpus alatus ''Dipterocarpus alatus'' ( th, ยางนา, , ; Khmer: ''chhë tiël ba:y, chhë tiël tük, chhë tiël thom''DY PHON Pauline, 2000, Plants Used In Cambodia, self-published, printed by Imprimerie Olympic, Phnom Penh or ឈើទាល (''ch ...

'', ''

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius ''Dipterocarpus obtusifolius'' is a common species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae found throughout Southeast Asia, including Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.DY PHON Pauline, 2000, ''Plants Used In Cambodia'' ...

'', ''

Dipterocarpus tuberculatus ''Dipterocarpus tuberculatus'' ( Khmer ''khlông'',DY PHON Pauline, 2000, Plants Used in Cambodia, self-published, printed by Imprimerie Olympic, Phnom Penh Indian English ''gurjuntree''Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, 1952 ...

'', ''

Shorea obtusa ''Shorea obtusa'', the Siamese sal, is a species of hardwood tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae, native to Southeast Asia. Distribution and habitat ''Shorea obtusa'' is native to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It grows in relat ...

'', '' Terminalia alata'', '' Irvingia malayana'', ''

Shorea siamensis ''Shorea siamensis'' is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is native to most of mainland Southeast Asia. Uses In Cambodia, ''Shorea siamensis'' (known in Khmer as រាំងភ្នំ – Raing Phnom) is rare and most oft ...

'', ''

Lagerstroemia calyculata ''Lagerstroemia calyculata'' known as the "Guava Crape Myrtle" (Vietnamese name : ''Bằng Lăng Ổi'', ''Bằng Lăng Cườm''; th, ตะแบก ''tabaek''; Cambodian name: Srolao "ដើមស្រឡៅ"); the name is derived from its v ...

'', ''

Tetrameles nudiflora ''Tetrameles'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Tetramelaceae with one species, ''Tetrameles nudiflora''. It grows as a large deciduous tree and is found across southern Asia from India through southeast Asia, Malesia, and into northe ...

'', ''

Xylia xylocarpa ''Xylia xylocarpa'' is a species of tree in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the family Fabaceae. Description and properties This perennial tree is very conspicuous in the flowering season owing to its bright yellow flow ...

'' '' Peltophorum dasyrhachis'' and '' Dillenia obovata''. Animal species include

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 ...

Phayre's leaf monkey Phayre's leaf monkey (''Trachypithecus phayrei''), also known as Phayre's langur, is a species of lutung native to South and Southeast Asia, namely India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Populations from further east are now thought to belong to other s ...

sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

, Sunda flying lemur,

Malayan porcupine The Malayan porcupine or Himalayan porcupine (''Hystrix brachyura'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. Three subspecies are extant in South and Southeast Asia. Geographical distribution The Malayan porcupine ranges from Nepal th ...

common palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range ...

northern red muntjac The Northern red muntjac (''Muntiacus vaginalis'') is a species of muntjac. It is found in numerous countries of south-central and southeast Asia. Taxonomy It was recently found distinct from the Indian muntjac, Southern red muntjac (previous ...

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 ...

. Bird species include black drongo,

hill myna ''Gracula'' is a genus of mynas, tropical members of the starling family of birds found in southern Asia and introduced to Florida in the United States. Taxonomy The genus ''Gracula'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnae ...

Richard's pipit Richard's pipit (''Anthus richardi'') is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in open grasslands in the East Palearctic. It is a long-distance migrant moving to open lowlands in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is a rare but ...

and

white-rumped shama The white-rumped shama (''Copsychus malabaricus'') is a small passerine bird of the family Muscicapidae. Native to densely vegetated habitats in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, its popularity as a cage-bird and songster has led to it ...

References

{{authority control National parks of Thailand Geography of Kalasin province Tourist attractions in Kalasin province Geography of Sakon Nakhon province Tourist attractions in Sakon Nakhon province 1982 establishments in Thailand Protected areas established in 1982

Geography

History

Attractions

Flora and fauna

See also

References