Things to Do and See in the Park
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park
Rare and Unique Wildlife
Due to the steep and relatively inaccessible nature of its mountains, the park still supports a population of serow, a blackish goat-antelope now rare in Thailand. The park also supports populations of three species of primate: the dusky or spectacled langur, the crab-eating or long-tailed macaque, and the slow loris. Other mammals found are the barking deer, Malayan pangolin, fishing cat, common palm-civet, Malayan porcupine, Javan mongoose, Siamese hare, and grey-bellied squirrel.
Especially interesting are the crab-eating macaques. Macaques normally eat fruits and other plants, complemented by insects and worms. Since there is very little of the typical food for this species in the flora of the park, especially on the islands, these monkeys have adapted their eating habits and developed the skill of catching crabs from the sea!
Nature Trails
A series of hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty criss-cross the park.
The Horseshoe Trail and the Mangrove Nature Trail offer excellent opportunities to view a variety of habitats and wildlife. On the Mangrove Nature Trail mudskippers, crabs, monitor lizards, kingfishers, herons, egrets and a variety of other bird species can be seen. The Horseshoe Trail offers views of macaque and langur monkeys, squirrels, and an assortment of colorful song birds.
The Khao Krachom Trail leads to the top of the tallest hill, near the center of the park.
Cave Exploration
If you're ready for a physical challenge, the park has three caves accessible to visitors.
Tham Phraya Nakorn Cave
Tham Phraya Nakhon Cave can be reached on foot from Laem Sala beach inside the park. The rather steep and rocky ascent up the side of the mountain (about 430 meters long) provides spectacular sea views and takes about 30 minutes. Tham Phraya Nakhon is actually two sinkholes whose roof has fallen in, letting in sunlight. In the middle of the cave is a Thai-style pavilion built for a visit by King Rama V in 1896. The cave was named for Phraya Nakhon, ruler of the city-state of Nakhon Si Thammarat, who inadvertently discovered it over 200 years ago when a gale forced his ship ashore.
Tham Sai and Tham Kaew Caves
The other two caves are for the more physically fit, as access is somewhat more difficult than to Tham Phraya Nakhon. The trek is well worth the effort though, as both caves have interesting sights to offer. Lamps can be rented from the locals before entering the caves for a minimal charge.
A Paradise for Bird Watchers
Khao Sam Roi Yot is one of the country's best bird watching sites due to the approximately 300 recorded species found here. It is particularly notable for migratory shore birds and waterfowl. Sightings include rare species such as the purple heron (one of only two breeding sites in Thailand), the white-bellied sea eagle, and the spotted and imperial eagles.
The large number of species found in a relatively small area can be attributed to the unique diversity of habitat and because the park is located on the East Asian/Australian flyway. Migratory birds account for about half of the recorded species.
Ban Pu Fishing Village
A boat ride with local fishermen past the islands in the bay to Bang Pu fishing village inside the park can be arranged from the resort for a small fee.
Khao Daeng Canal Boat Ride
Another popular excursion is a cruise along Khao Daeng Canal from near the park headquarters on a 10 passenger boat for 1-2 hours. Passing through mangroves and wetland habitats, visitors can see various species of birds and plants which fringe the banks, as well as occasional mudskippers and monitor lizards. The trip is most spectacular early morning or just before sunset.
Fresh Water Marsh Boat Rides
Park rangers are on call to take visitors out on the marsh on flatbed boats. The views are spectacular just before sunset, which is also the best time for bird watching.
Dolphin Bay Resort staff will be very happy to give advice and help arrange excursions into the park according to what interests you.
What our guests say about the park:
"Our group of five, set of in a 4 wheel drive from Dolphin Bay Resort into the national park over winding dirt roads and climbing up and over mountains to get to the Marsh, about a 10 km drive from the Resort, we arrived at the marsh and found a very helpful park ranger who arranged a guide and boat to carry the five of us around the marsh. The boat tour around took about four hours and was some of the best scenery I have ever seen, the water was clear and you could see the fish and the bird life was just amazing, birds of every color of a rainbow and one of the most beautiful aspects of the trip was a part of the marsh that was covered in lilies pink and white lilies, hundreds of thousands of them, one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever seen."
Willy Defries, Netherlands.
"We enjoyed our stay at Dolphin Bay Resort very much. We came to stay three nights and didn't leave for a week and then only because it was time to come back to the States. It is in an ideal location for bird watching. The park being 4-5 km. to the south, the freshwater marsh 15 km. to the north, and the long beach right there. We added 32 birds to our list just in that area. Common collared white-throated, and black-capped kingfishers are beautiful and quite numerous. In the marsh we saw the purple and the grey heron. Pheasant-tailed jacana, bronze-winged jacana, black-winged stilt, and purple swamp hen to name just a few. The Khao Daeng Canal boat trip is very relaxing also. Beautiful mountain vistas, birds among the mangroves, and monkeys in the trees."
Kay and Khalil, Texas
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