Khao Phra Thaeo

Almost all of Phuket's original forest went to rubber and tin. Khao Phra Thaeo, a protected block of roughly twenty-two square kilometres in the island's northeast, is what survived. It is not dramatic country. Two waterfalls, Bang Pae and Ton Sai, run properly only in the wet months, and the trail between them climbs through humid evergreen forest with macaques, hornbills and a great many insects for company. Most visitors come for the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project near Bang Pae, which takes white-handed gibbons out of the photo-prop trade and works towards releasing them into this forest. You watch from a walkway, at distance, with no handling of any kind.

Highlights

• Bang Pae waterfall - a short walk from the gate, worth it only after rain.
• The Bang Pae to Ton Sai trail - a few hours of humid forest, easier with a guide.
• The gibbon centre - rescued white-handed gibbons seen from a viewing walkway.
• Canopy birdlife - hornbills, drongos and barbets in the first hour of daylight.

When to go

The waterfalls only look like waterfalls between June and November, when the southwest monsoon fills them; in the dry months they thin to a trickle over rock. Mornings are cooler and better for birds and gibbon calls. The rehabilitation centre keeps short hours and shuts around midday on some days, so check before driving out.

Before you go

This is quiet secondary business next to Phuket's beaches, and anyone expecting spectacle leaves disappointed. The trail is muddy, leech-prone in the wet season and poorly signed. Macaques near the car park are aggressive about bags. On the wider point: Phuket also sells elephant riding and elephant shows, a different business entirely from the observation-only sanctuaries, and worth checking carefully before booking anything.

Nearby

Thalang's village lanes, the east-coast piers and Phuket's northern beaches.