Khao Luang (เขาหลวง) is the tallest mountain in southern

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 ...

. It is in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

Geography

The Khao Luang mountain is the highest summit of a massif of several hills with steep slopes. It is part of the

Nakhon Si Thammarat Range The Nakhon Si Thammarat Range ( th, ทิวเขานครศรีธรรมราช, , ) is a mountain range on the Malay peninsula in southern Thailand, running in a north–south direction. This mountain chain is also sometimes named Ba ...

, a subrange of the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range ( my, တနင်္သာရီ တောင်တန်း, ; th, ทิวเขาตะนาวศรี, , ; ms, Banjaran Tanah Seri/Banjaran Tenang Sari) is the geographical name of a r ...

. Geologically this mountain formation consists of a granite core under loose soils. On steep slopes, the soil covering the mountains can cause

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s when saturated with water. Some of the forests of the area were felled to give way to

rubber plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Khao Luang National Park

Khao Luang National Park is named after Khao Luang mountain. The park is mountainous with many tall peaks along its range. The park covers an area of 356,250 rai ~ with a large variety of wildlife and habitats, including mountains, forests, rivers and waterfalls. The park was designated a national park on 18 December 1974, becoming the ninth national park in Thailand. The headquarters of the park is from the town of

Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality ( th, เทศบาลนครนครศรีธรรมราช, ; from Pali ''Nagara Sri Dhammaraja'') is a municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') in Southern Thailand, capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat prov ...

. The mountainous park is a watershed for the

Tapee River The Tapi (or Tapee) river ( th, แม่น้ำตาปี, , ) is the longest river in southern Thailand. The river originates at Khao Luang mountain in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, and empties into the Gulf of Thailand at Bandon Bay near ...

, Pakphanang River, Klai River and Pakpoon River, Nopphitam.

Climate

Due to the park's location on the peninsula, it receives

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

s from both the east and the west coasts and means that the park receives rain all year and also cold weather. There are two main seasons. Rainy season from May to January with the heaviest rainfall between October and December. Hot season is between February and April. Over the year the park receives approximately of rainfall. The highest temperatures range from to and the lowest from to in January and February.

Flora and fauna

Moist evergreen forest, which can be found in the valleys and in damp gullies and riversides. Hill evergreen forest and lower montaine forest. Over 300 species of orchids can be seen within the park. Khao Luang is the only place in the world where some of these can be found. There are no fewer than 327 species of animals living in Khao Luang, some of these include;

Malayan 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 ...

Sumatran serow The Sumatran serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis sumatraensis''), also known as the southern serow, is a subspecies of the mainland serow native to mountain forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was previou ...

pig-tailed macaque The pig-tailed macaques are two macaque sister species. They look almost identical and are best distinguished by their parapatric ranges: * Northern pig-tailed macaque, ''Macaca leonina'' (Bangladesh to Vietnam, south to northern Malaysia) * South ...

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine The Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine (''Atherurus macrourus'') is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae. It is found in China, Bhutan, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Taxonomy The synonyms of this species are ''At ...

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

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 ...

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 ...

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

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 ...

, wild pig, banded langur and spectacled langur. Bird species include

black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...

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 ...

, great argus pheasant, crested fireback pheasant,

white-crowned hornbill The white-crowned hornbill (''Berenicornis comatus''), also known as the long-crested hornbill or white-crested hornbill (leading to easy confusion with the African white-crested hornbill), is a species of hornbill. Taxonomy It is monotypic wi ...

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 ...

great pied hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

helmeted hornbill The helmeted hornbill (''Rhinoplax vigil'') is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque (helmetlike structure on the head) accounts for some 11% of its 3 ...

red-crowned barbet The red-crowned barbet (''Psilopogon rafflesii'') is a species of bird in the family Megalaimidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest ...

and

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

Similarly named locations

There are other mountains called "Khao Luang" at other locations in Thailand: * Khao Luang, Hui Yang, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Namtok Huai Yang National Park. * Khao Luang (92 m) and Khao Luang Cave,

Hua Hin Hua Hin ( th, หัวหิน, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district ...

. * Khao Luang Cave Temple near

Phetchaburi Phetchaburi ( th, เพชรบุรี, ) or Phet Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approx ...

Geography

Khao Luang National Park

Climate

Flora and fauna

Similarly named locations

See also

References

External links