Phu Ruea National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติภูเรือ) 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 Loei 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 centred on

Phu Ruea Phu Ruea ( th, ภูเรือ), is a 1365 m high mountain in Loei province, Thailand. It is in Phu Ruea district. This mountain is part of the Phetchabun Mountains, a massif forming a natural boundary between northern Thailand and Isan. The p ...

mountain, a popular, scenic peak 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 ...

. The park was established on 26 July 1979.

Geography

Phu Ruea National Park is west of

Loei Loei (; ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand. Loei covers the whole ''tambon'' of Mueang Loei district and is the capital of Loei province. In 2017, Loei had a population of 21,013. Loei lies 545 km north-northeast of Ba ...

town in Nong Bua Sub-district,

Phu Ruea District Phu Ruea ( th, ภูเรือ, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the western part of Loei province, northeastern Thailand. History The government split off some parts of Tha Li, Mueang Loei, and Dan Sai Districts and made them into the minor ...

and also Tha Li District. The park's area is 75,525 rai ~ .

mountain is high and experiences some of Thailand's coldest temperatures. In December and January temperatures here can fall below freezing. Phu Ruea means 'boat mountain', a name inspired by the shape of a cliff at the peak. The peak of Phu Ruea offers views of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

and Hueang Rivers and Laos. The park has numerous waterfalls, the highest of which is the Huai Phai waterfall at . Pha Sam Thong is a large cliff. Other peaks within the park include Phusun at and Phuku at .

Flora and fauna

Types of forest in the park include mixed deciduous, deciduous

dipterocarp 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'' = fru ...

, dry evergreen, and coniferous. Plant species include orchids such as '' Phalaenopsis pulcherrima'', ''

Rhynchostylis retusa ''Rhynchostylis retusa'' (also called foxtail orchid) is an orchid, belonging to the ''Vanda'' alliance. The inflorescence is a pendant raceme, consisting of more than 100 pink-spotted white flowers. The plant has a short, stout, creeping stem c ...

'' and various ''

Vanda ''Vanda'', abbreviated in the horticultural trade as ''V.,'' is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are about 87 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among ...

'' and ''

Dendrobium ''Dendrobium'' is a genus of mostly epiphytic and lithophytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae. It is a very large genus, containing more than 1,800 species that are found in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, i ...

'' species as well as various rhododendron such as ''

Rhododendron simsii ''Rhododendron simsii'' (杜鵑) is a rhododendron species native to East Asia, where it grows at altitudes of . Description It is a twiggy evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub growing to in height, with leaves that are ovate, elliptic-ovate or ob ...

'' and '' Rhododendron lyi''. Animal species include

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...

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, ...

and Siamese hare. Bird life in the park includes

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 ...

Siamese fireback The Siamese fireback (''Lophura diardi''), also known as Diard's fireback, is a fairly large, approximately long, pheasant. The male has a grey plumage with an extensive facial caruncle, crimson legs and feet, ornamental black crest feathers, re ...

yellow-vented bulbul The yellow-vented bulbul (''Pycnonotus goiavier''), or eastern yellow-vented bulbul, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in southeastern Asia from Indochina to the Philippines. It is found in a wide vari ...

greater coucal The greater coucal or crow pheasant (''Centropus sinensis''), is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspeci ...

plain prinia The plain prinia (''Prinia inornata''), also known as the plain wren-warbler or white-browed wren-warbler, p. 343 is a small Cisticolidae, cisticolid warbler found in southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south Chin ...

coppersmith barbet The coppersmith barbet (''Psilopogon haemacephalus''), also called crimson-breasted barbet and coppersmith, is an Asian barbet with crimson forehead and throat, known for its metronomic call that sounds similar to a coppersmith striking metal wi ...

, Asian barred owlet as well as brown-throated sunbird. The endangered

big-headed turtle The big-headed turtle (''Platysternon megacephalum'') is a species of turtle in the family Platysternidae from Southeast Asia and southern China. Background Previously considered a distinct family placed on occasion in " Kinosternoidea", it w ...

is present in the park.

References

{{authority control National parks of Thailand Geography of Loei province Tourist attractions in Loei province Phetchabun Mountains

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References