Thung Salaeng Luang National Park

Thung Salaeng Luang covers about 1,260 square kilometres straddling Phitsanulok and Phetchabun, and its character is unusual for Thailand: large open savanna grasslands - thung means field - broken by groves of Merkus pine and dry evergreen forest, more like African or Australian grassland than the closed jungle people expect. The two main plains, Thung Salaeng Luang and Thung Non Son, carpet with wild flowers from around October into December after the rains, with dok krajiao, the Siam tulip, among them, and that is when most visitors come. Elephants, gaur, deer and gibbons live in the park and there are salt licks with hides. Kaeng Sopha, a wide set of rapids on the Khek river, is on the main road at the park's edge and gets far more casual visitors than the interior. Facilities are basic; roads into the grasslands are rough and some require permission or a guide.

What you actually see

• The savanna plains - open grassland, unusual in a Thai national park.
• The flower season - wild blooms carpeting the plains, October to December.
• The pine groves - Merkus pine standing over the grass.
• Kaeng Sopha - the Khek river rapids at the park's edge.

When to go

October to December for the flowering plains, which is the reason to time a visit. Cool season generally for weather. Interior roads are rough and some need a guide or permission.

Honest expectations

The interior grasslands take effort to reach - rough roads and sometimes a guide. Wildlife needs hides and patience. Most casual visitors only see the roadside rapids. Facilities are basic.

Nearby

Nam Nao is east; Phu Hin Rong Kla is north and Phitsanulok west.