Erawan National park is in the midst of the Kanchanaburi jungle, tangled with emerald and myrtle vines and thriving with wildlife. An ideal National Park for seeing, hiking and swimming! With 7 tiers to explore, you can easily spend a day here and take time to absorb the nature. In this blog, I have included real, unedited pictures I have taken, to give you a true idea of what to expect!
Erawans Basics
Location: Kanchanaburi
Opening times: 9am-4.30pm
Cost: 300 Baht per person
Must Know: You are required to wear a life jacket in the water
How to get there: Easily accessible via bus from Kanchanaburi (60 Baht each way) or tours from Bangkok. See more HERE.
Top Tier
I recommend powering through to the top tier on arrival to the park (40min-1hour). This way you will avoid the crowds and can take your time to stop for a swim and take pictures at each level on the way down. The 7th Layer is where the park gets its name as it is said to resemble the three headed white elephant from Hindu legend. Here you will feel truly immersed in the jungle, surrounded by thick forestry and flowing waterfalls. I sat on the edge and looked out into the canopy, closing my eyes to hear the crashing cascades and birds calling through the trees. Very tranquil and meditating, so it must be good for the soul!
Tier 7 is a great spot for capturing Erawan’s essence in a photo, there’s jungle, there’s waterfalls and there’s a sign to say how great you are for reaching the top. What more could you need? There are less rangers up here, so you can get some photos in the shallow end without your life jacket.
Naturally, I did my hair ready for photos, which was bluntly flattened by the rainfall on our course to the top. Even so, the pictures turned out great!
Swimming in Erawan
On the descent, I stopped at what I believe to be the fourth level-“Oke Nang Peesau”. Here I cooled off with a swim and took a little ride down the natural rock slide. As you will be wearing a life vest, you can lay back and float away your worries through the dreamy waters. There were lots of feet sucking fish here, so be ready for a fishy spa.
You can also swim at other levels, The first tier being the most popular. However, we had Oke Nang Peesau completely to ourselves and it felt like a little private paradise! Spot the fish in the middle picture.
Erawan Trails
The dense jungle offers much to gaze at, you will even find yourself stumbling through tall bamboo stalks. Of course my inner panda prompted me to take a munch inspired photo. Remember to wear good walking shoes when trekking through the trails as the terrain is home to snakes and other wildlife.
Shanni’s Top Tips
– Staff will begin cleaning from the top layer at 3pm and will ask guests to leave as they move down.
– You will be charged a deposit for bringing a water bottle. You will get it back when you show you have brought your bottle back. This is to prevent plastic pollution throughout the park.
– For dreamy blue waters visit in Dry season (Top tier has been know to fully dry up, I would recommend going in wet season)
– For majestic waterfalls visit in Wet season
– Wear water shoes unless you like the sensation of fish sucking your toes… In deeper water they may also try your legs
Another awesome National Park ticked off the list…although I never feel like it’s really over. Erawan is bigger than what I experienced, there are caves and hikes and more nature to see! Get out there and let me know what else you find.
Read more about Thailand HERE!
OR
Another awesome National Park in the North of Thailand HERE!