Namtok Phlio National Park

Namtok Phlio is a modest waterfall reached by an easy walk through forest, and what people remember is the fish: the pool below is dense with pla phluang, soro brook carp, protected within the park and habituated to being fed, in numbers thick enough that the water churns when food goes in. Vendors sell fish food at the entrance and the feeding is the main event, though the practice has obvious drawbacks for a wild population. Two monuments stand beside the pool. Rama V built the Alongkorn Chedi here in 1876, and in 1881 a pyramid-shaped memorial stupa for Queen Sunandha Kumariratana, who drowned in 1880 when the royal barge capsized on the Chao Phraya - bystanders reportedly did not intervene because touching a royal person was forbidden on pain of death, and she and her daughter died. The park has other falls and forest trails.

Highlights

• The carp - soro brook carp in dense numbers in the pool below the fall.
• The memorials - the Alongkorn Chedi of 1876 and the 1881 pyramid for Queen Sunandha.
• The waterfall - modest, reached by an easy 500-metre walk.
• The forest - trails and further falls in the park.

When to go

July to November for the strongest flow. The walk is easy and level in any season. Weekends bring Chanthaburi families and the fish feeding is busiest then.

What to expect

The waterfall itself is small - the fish and the monuments carry the visit. Feeding the carp is encouraged commercially but is not good for them. Rocks are slippery. Foreign entry fees are higher than Thai.

Nearby

Chanthaburi town and its cathedral are north-west; the Chaloem Burapha coast road runs south.

Key facts