Krabi Holy Karst:Tourists and pilgrims come together for daily visits to Wat Tham Seua.


		General Information Than Bok Khorani National Park is a rainforest situated in the valley in the midst of the mountains. Streams flow through the area disappearing into the limestone rocks underneath the mountains, on their journey to the sea. The source of the stream is Nam Phut Cave and Ao Mai Dam Mountain (Black Tree Bay Mountain). This was formerly the territory of wild elephants, until people moved in and settled the area. They cleared the forest and took possession of the land for agriculture, until only the stream remained. The park was established on 30th September 1998.

Topography Geography of Tarn Bok Koranee National Park is the ridge of mountains alternatively laying along north-south direction like a complicated wave and has varieties of deep slope. There is a little bit of plain area, most of them would be found on mountain shoulder and valley. The limestone mountains in this area are covered with the mixed tropical forest and in addition it also consistis of mangrove forest, waterfall stream, sea and beach. Morevever, there are a limestone island and many small islands, about 23 islands.
		Climate The climate of this national park is a monsoon weather, consists of 2 seasons; raining and hot season or so called "eight raining-four sunshine" which means raining for 8 months and hot for 4 months. Raining Season starts from April till December every year. The heavy rain would be found in September while November would be cold with an average temperature at 26.4 degrees celsius. Hot Season starts from mid of January till April every year. February is the lowest of raining and very hot but suitable for travel. In April, the average temperature is 29 degrees celsius.


Flora and Fauna The national park covers an area of 104 sq.km, including a group of 23 islands off the coast of Krabi as Chong Lat Tai Island, Ka Rot Island, Pak Ka Island, Lao Bile Island (Hong Island), etc,. The landscape is dominated by a series of impressive mountains; precipitous, tall, limestone towers, protruding out of the landscape in a typical Karsts topography. Sink holes in the rock lead the way to underground streams, and numerous mountain cave. Than Bok Khorani National Park is the source and watershed for the water of Ao Luek District, flowing from five important streams; Marui, Klang, Nam Tok, Ao Luek and Ka Rot. The main plant communities are rainforest, mangrove forest, and freshwater swamp forest. Rain Forest is found on the steep mountain ranges, Hopea spp., Lagerstroemia spp., Dipterocarpus alatus, Intsia palembanica and Terminalia wallichiana being the dominant trees, and the undergrowth is characterised by Salacca sp., rattan and bamboo. Mangrove Forest is mostly found around Tham Rot Tai Mountain, Nam Bay and Ka Rot Island. The main species are Rhizophora, Kylocarpus, Bruguiera, Sonneratia and Avicennia. Swamp Forest covers the footslopes of Chong Lom Mountain. Because the forest no longer covers a wide, continuous area, the variety of wildlife is reduced. Wildlife Mammals , include Wild boar, Fishing Cats, Mouse Deer, Gibbon, Langurs, Large Indian Civet, Malayan Porqupine, Pangolin, Otters, Squirrels, Javan Mongoose and Flying Lemurs. Birds , include Brahminy Kite, Common Koel, White breasted waterhen, Hill Myna, Woodpeckers and Grey Wagtail. The rivers are habitat for a wealth of freshwater species, including True Eel and Long Tom. Reptiles , such as chameleon, bengal monitor, king cobra, cobra, reticulated python, malayan pit viper, bronzeback, etc. Fish , whilst the sea supports coral reefs, with both hard and soft corals, Parrotfish, Starfish, and Anemones. Interesting Points


Tourist Attractions

Than Bok Khorani Waterfall The water in Than Bok Khorani is green due to the deposit of diluted calcide from the surrounding mountains. The inner pond,120 square metres in size, is quite deep. The source of Morakot Pond is between Khao Wong and Ao Mai Dam. It is a watershed that branches off into streams, some of which come together to form Morakot Pond. You can make a round trip travel in one day by just do a recreation activities, such as swimming in the Than Bok Khorani waterfall, nature sigthseeing in the nearby area, traveling by boat and visit history place and caves. Lot Cave with a subterranean stream 150 metres in length, making kayaking and canoeing through the cave possible. Activities : Scienic view, Cave/Geological Touring and Canoeing-Kayaking. Hong Island Activities : Activities on Beach, Snorkelling Diving, Scuba Diving, Nature trail study and Canoeing-Kayaking. Pre-Historic Cave Paintings The caves of Than Bok Khorani National Park are particularly interesting for the prehistoric cave art. There is no evidence that people ever inhabited the caves, rather, it is believed they used the caves for religious ceremonies. The ceremonial hand paintings depict people and animals in a geometric design, and can be seen in the area of Phi Hua To Cave, Fai Mai Cape, Tham Chao Le Cape, and Thai Raet Cape Activities : Scenic view, flowers admiring, Cultural Sight Seeing, Cave/Geological Touring and Canoeing-Kayaking.

Text by National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. www.dnp.go.th

Than Bok Khorani National Park