Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai wrote the first page of Thai conservation: declared in 1962 as the country's first national park, and since 2005 the anchor of the UNESCO-listed Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex. Three hours from Bangkok, its two thousand-odd square kilometres stack grassland savannas, montane forest and waterfall gorges - Haew Suwat pouring its film-famous plunge, Haew Narok dropping in tiers in the park's deep south. Wild elephants amble the park roads at dusk while traffic waits, great hornbills beat overhead on wingbeats you hear before you look up, gibbons sing the mornings, and night safaris spotlight deer, civets and porcupines. Watchtowers over the grasslands reward the patient; more than three hundred bird species reward the binoculared. It is Bangkok's wilderness - close enough for a weekend, wild enough to feel earned.

What you actually see

• Haew Suwat waterfall - the film-famous plunge into its jungle pool.
• Haew Narok - the park's biggest fall, tiered into the southern forest.
• Elephants on the road - dusk crossings that stop the traffic.
• The grassland watchtowers - patient hours over gaur and deer country.

When to go

November to February is cool and dry - prime wildlife walking; July to October fills the waterfalls. Weekends and Thai holidays bring Bangkok with them - come midweek.

Honest expectations

Sightings are luck, not itinerary - elephants appear on their own schedule. The park is vast with no internal transport, so bring wheels or a tour; foreigner fees apply, leeches own the wet season, and macaques will try for your snacks.

Nearby

Pak Chong's farm cafes and vineyards, Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok within a long day's reach.