Our Tours
Overview
Itinerary
Prices
Video
Duration
Full-Day
Season
Year-Round
Start/Finish
Khon Kaen to Khon Kaen
Highlights
Description
Nam Phong National Park's northern half blankets long, low Phu Phan Kham mountain. The park is best known for its vast clifftop views across Ubonrat Lake to the Phu Wiang Mountains, but the variety of beautiful and interesting rock formations spread throughout the forest is the real highlight and we spend the day walking around, climbing up, and even passing through many of them. This is not a wildlife-rich forest, though we will for sure see many different lizards and probably some wild chickens. There are many orchids and herbs in the rainy months.
Difficulty
There are no long, steep climbs, but due to the rough terrain in some sections and the distance (17 kilometers / 10.5 miles) this trek is rated difficult. However, there are two options to make it easier. Near the end, we can use a dirt road to skip the rough, rocky, off-trail final descent. It's also possible to do only the easy first half of the trek, which has just a few short uphill climbs. This option (8 kilometers / 5 miles) is suitable for children and we can fill out the afternoon with some stops outside the park, such as a bamboo basketry village and a historic temple.
Safety
There are no significant dangers in the park, but trekking always entails some risk. Isan Explorer provides limited accident insurance during your trek, but we advise you to have your own full travel and medical insurance. Your guide and the park rangers have received basic first aid training.
Walk through an otherworldly landscape.
We begin the trek atop Phu Phan Kham Take in the scenic views.mountain, exploring many giant, bizarrely eroded sandstone outcrops – including the iconic Hin Chang Si ("Elephant Rubbing Stone") – and crawling into a couple of interesting small caves; one with a natural skylight. We'll also take in some vast views of the lake and surrounding countryside from several viewpoints. We then walk through the forest along the top of the mountain to another viewpoint above a long vertical cliff, passing – and in one case passing through – many more giant rock outcrops along the way. We'll cross over to the other side of the mountain for a look down into a forested valley and then head back to our starting point for lunch.
There's a little free time to further explore the biggest outcrops before we begin our descent down to the lake passing even more beautiful stone scenery. This route is rarely used and the park ranger will probably need to break out his machete out at some points. After visiting a very devout forest temple, where many of the monk's quarters are built atop tall outcrops, we finish the trek with a steep rocky scramble to the bottom of the mountain.
If our itinerary doesn't fit your exact needs and desires, please let us know.
With advance notice we can usually modify things.
Prices valid until 30 April 2018
Price Includes
All sightseeing and activities as specified in the itinerary with English-speaking local guides, entrance fees, transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, snacks and cold water in the vehicle, hotel transfers, accident insurance, taxes, and pre-departure travel consultation.
Price Does Not Include
Meals, travel and medical insurance, personal expenses (such as souvenirs, snacks, etc.), tips/gratuities, and any additional expenses incurred due to airline schedule changes, natural disasters, political actions, or other factors beyond our control.
Booking/Cancellation Policies
Click here to read our full tour Terms & Conditions.
Group Size | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9+ |
Price Per Person | 6,150 | 3,250 | 2,250 | 1,750 | 1,500 | 1,300 | 1,200 | 1,100 | Ask |
The video will be added later.
Isan Explorer is a family-run Khon Kaen, Thailand based tour company offering tours in Northeastern Thailand, known as Isan (sometimes spelled Isaan, Issan, Isarn, Esan, E-San, Esaan, E-Saan, Esarn, and E-sarn). We offer pre-designed and custom Thailand tours for individuals and groups and cater for travelers on any budget, from luxury to backpacker. We embrace slow travel and all our tours focus on culture and/or nature.
Copyright © 2011-2018 Isan Explorer, Khon Kaen, Thailand. All Rights Reserved.
Tourism Authority
of Thailand
License No. 54/00028