Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park

This national park has several slabs of smooth, rounded cobbles which are moulded from sandstone by centuries of wind and rain. The inaccessible Mon Daeng Waterfall crashes down the 32 steps it has chiselled into the mountainside over many hundreds of years. Communist rebels used this area as their hideaway in the 1970s.

Activities : Trekking to view the numerous orchids and lichens on the wooded slopes and deep ravines.

Getting there : Phitsanulok Province is 377 kilometres north of Bangkok. At the province, you turn onto highway 12 (Phitsanulok-Lomsak) to kilometre 68 and then on to highway 2013 for another 28 kilometres to Nakhon Thai district, finally onto highway 2331 to the national park office.

Thung Salaeng Luang National Park

Another national park of open fields surrounded by dry oak forests and stately pines. Thung means "field" in Thai, though the field in this national park lying in the Phetchabun Range are neither fully cultivated nor totally wild. Kaeng Sopha waterfall, one of three spectacular staircase waterfalls in Thung Saleang Luang, thunders down a series of steps before reaching the calm savannah forest below. The meadows at Non Son and Nang Phaya are full of interesting flora and fauna.

Activities : Trekking to see the wild flowers which bloom between October and December; touring on bicycles to see the butterflies.

Getting there : Phetchabun Province is 364 kilometres from Bangkok and the national park office is located at kilometres 80 on highway 12 between Phitsanulok and Lomsak.

What to bring : Warm clothing in the winter months.

Doi Inthanon National Park

The highest peak in the country at 2,565 metres, Doi Inthanon is also a national park forming the southerly end of the Shan mountain range and the source of several rivers. The park has flora and fauna not seen in other parts of Thailand. Two Hill Tribes, the Karen and Hmong have settled here.

Activities : Trekking is recommended to observe the fauna and flora. Some 364 different species of birds can be found here, also butterflies. There are camping grounds and the best time to visit is between November and February. Details can be obtained from the Park Lodging office.

Getting there : Doi Inthanon is in Chom Thong district, CHiang Mai Province, 160 kilometres from the town.

What to bring : Warm clothing in the winter months.

Mae Surin National Park

A national park in Mae Hong Son Province on the Doi Mae Ukor with waterfalls and a vast field of wild sunflowers (bua thong) which bloom in November. You can visit a Hill Tribe in Khun Yuam district.

Activities : Trekking and camping between November and February.

Getting there : Mae Hong Son Province is over 900 kilometres from Bangkok and can be reached by air and then by road to Khun Yuam district and on a further 90 kilometres to Doi Mae Ukor.