I have visited Khao Yai National Park twice, and the third would be the charm. The first two times, I visited on my own. I hitchhiked from the entrance to the campground both times and managed to tour the park on my own getting rides from Thai people or guided trips from the park rangers. This time, I did Khao Yai National Park tours with JJ Adventure.
Scenes from a Khao Yai with JJ adventure.
Khao Yai National Park tours with JJ Adventure
Somehow, I found JJ Adventure on Instagram, and I loved the daily reels and pictures from Khao Yai. Not only is JJ a very competent guide, but she is also a tremendous wildlife photographer. I hoped I would get lucky and see some of the incredible animals they have shown on their channel. I reached out to JJ via WhatsApp, and they had a group tour that I could jump on for 1800 baht, which is approximately $60.00.
Related: Khao Yai National Park wildlife photo gallery
Related: Khao Yai National Park nature gallery 2005
I am not joking, the bus had a stewardess.
Bus from Bangkok to Pak Chong
The adventure in Thailand or any foreign country for that matter, is often the trip there. I booked a bus to Pak Chong, and the bus left me at the side of the highway seven kilometers from town. I would like to add that the bus was incredibly comfortable and even had a stewardess giving out snacks and water. The trip cost about $7.00. Fortunately, even Pak Chong, Thailand has rideshare. I was able to book a Grab to my hotel. I stayed at Rimtarninn Hotel in Pak Chong, and JJ said she would pick me up at 7:30 a.m. the next morning.
I am back in Khao Yai.
Pick up and onto Khao Yai National Park
JJ and her daughter picked me up at 7:30 a.m., and we headed to the park. We were joined by a fellow solo traveler from Israel and a family from Belgium. While waiting for everyone to arrive, we grabbed coffee at the park entrance. We also did our first birdwatching. We saw an ornate sunbird and blue-winged leafbirds. We also saw a few black-crested bulbuls, which are a very common bird in the park.
A beautiful ornate sunbird mixed with beautiful flowers and morning coffee.
Huaw Suwat Waterfall
My first two trips to Khao Yai were during the dry season, so this would be my first time experiencing the park in the rainy season. I could tell right away that the park was much more lush than what I remembered from previous trips. The fact that it was the rainy season really became apparent with our first stop to Huaw Suwat Waterfall. In fact, we even needed ponchos when at the overlook below the waterfall. It was raging so hard that the mist was drenching.
Beautiful sky and river on the way to the waterfall.
Huaw Suwat Waterfall was raging.
Panchos for everyone at Khao Yai National Park.
Run through the jungle
We then went off the beaten path and hiked through the jungle on some very sparsely used trails. The park was quite busy being a Sunday, but when we started hiking through the jungle, we hardly saw anyone. We had to dodge big orb spiders. This was another difference visiting in the wet season. When I was here in the dry season, I hardly saw any spiders.
Amazing fungi in the Khao Yai jungle.
Cool orb spider in a web in Khao Yai National Park.
The first exciting sighting was a red-headed trogon. I was psyched to add another trogon to my list. I saw three different kinds in Panama during my spring break, but this was my first trogon sighting in Asia. We also saw a distant scarlet minivet on a tree in a clearing. This was another lifer for me.
For comparison’s sake, here is a gartered trogon from Panama.
Amazingly beautiful red-headed trogon.
Such a stunning bird with so many striking colors.
Looking back on this experience in the jungle. The red-headed trogon was my favorite part of the trip. It was the most beautiful bird we saw, it was super close, and of course, it was a lifer for me. I was not even aware before this trip that trogons lived in Asia. Just like the toucans, I thought they only lived in the Western hemisphere.
A very distant scarlet minivet.
First time seeing a gibbon
We kept walking and walking and occasionally saw a bird or two. We saw Asian fairy bluebirds, and a couple of hornbills, which I missed as I was scoping out some small birds way up in a tree. Our patience was rewarded when we saw a couple of white-handed gibbons.
My first look at a gibbon, which was a white-handed or lar gibbon.
Thanks to JJ for taking so many great photos. Here is a picture of me taking a picture of white-handed gibbons.
We had already seen some monkeys, which to be honest, do not really interest me. I have seen so many monkeys on my travels, and I am always happy to see a new species, but I have no interest in seeing another group of macaques. Gibbons are a different matter though. They are shy and reclusive and live high in the trees. I had never seen one before until today.
Better run through the jungle.
This white-handed gibbon is wondering what the fuss is. Dudes, I am just hanging out having a nutritious snack.
We came upon two high up in the trees and followed them in order to get good shots. I got some great photos, and I was really happy to have this experience.
Managed to get underneath one and get this shot.
Reptiles another highlight from Khao Yai National Park
We saw many cool reptiles during our hikes and drives. One was seen not long after spotting the trogon and gibbons in the jungle. We saw another along the river near the Visitor’s Center. The last one we saw by the river looking for elephants during the end of the day.
My guess is a greater spiny lizard.
Gunung Raya Green-crested Lizard
Three lizards are the charm. Perhaps a Chinese water dragon.
Search for elephants
After our hike in the jungle, we spent a lot of time driving around the park looking for elephants. Unfortunately, we did not see any, but we did see a cool porcupine in a drainage ditch and some interesting lizards. We did not see any elephants though.
A sexy porcupine butt was the best I could do.
Teamwork making the dreamwork going over the speed bumps
While overall, the safari vehicle was comfortable, if you were not paying attention, you could get a rude awakening going over the multiple speed bumps found throughout the park. We implemented a first alert system for the bumps. Whomever saw an approaching speed bump first would alert the rest of the passengers. We would then brace ourselves for the coming bounce.
This must have been just after a speed bump.
On our way out of the park, we took some group pictures at an overlook at the highest point by the Visitor’s Center. We then drove down the mountain back to the park entrance. I was a little disappointed at the lack of bird species. I only counted nine species, but the gibbons and the red-headed trogon were special sightings. The amazing thing about Khao Yai is there is so much nature to see. If the birds don’t show up, the lizards, spiders, and the incredible lush vegetation make it so that there is always something fascinating to look at.
Khao Yai group shot.
Beautiful sunset before heading down the mountain.
I definitely would recommend JJ Adventure. She is dedicated to doing her best to make sure her clients see incredible wildlife. She also has great energy and will make sure everyone is having a good time. Check out their Instagram and Facebook, and you will see the amazing amount of bird and animal species they see. They can be reached and booked via WhatsApp at +66810665909.
Adventure on!
