ERAWAN FALLS

The Erawan Waterfall was really an impressive series of seven waterfalls each with a shape and character all its own. All the waterfalls typically fell over limestone cliffs resulting in colorful plunge pools as well as interestingly rounded rock formations reminiscent of something that would belong in a cave. Moreover, we also saw some unsigned waterfalls that seemed legitimate but didn't appear to count towards the seven.

In any case, we thought this waterfall had it all - the scenery, the swimming, and the exercise. It was no wonder why it was popular and quite busy here. Of course, given how typically hot it was in this part of Thailand, I guess the swimming or playing in the many plunge pools of beneath these waterfalls were enticing as well as scenically alluring. It seemed like this waterfall epitomized the universal appeal of swimming beneath waterfalls in the typically humid tropical climate.

From the car park, the trail started off flat and mostly paved as it ultimately reached the first waterfall, which was called Ly Kung Lung (I also saw it spelled Hlai Keun Lung). A sign indicated that it was only a 20m walk from the visitor center area. Believe it or not, it was possible to bypass this section of walking by taking a tram to that visitor center area. We didn't do the tram option as we thought it was a little overkill.

The Erawan Waterfall was really an impressive series of seven waterfalls each with a shape and character all its own. All the waterfalls typically fell over limestone cliffs resulting in colorful plunge pools as well as interestingly rounded rock formations reminiscent of something that would belong in a cave. Moreover, we also saw some unsigned waterfalls that seemed legitimate but didn't appear to count towards the seven.

In any case, we thought this waterfall had it all - the scenery, the swimming, and the exercise. It was no wonder why it was popular and quite busy here. Of course, given how typically hot it was in this part of Thailand, I guess the swimming or playing in the many plunge pools of beneath these waterfalls were enticing as well as scenically alluring. It seemed like this waterfall epitomized the universal appeal of swimming beneath waterfalls in the typically humid tropical climate.

From the car park, the trail started off flat and mostly paved as it ultimately reached the first waterfall, which was called Ly Kung Lung (I also saw it spelled Hlai Keun Lung). A sign indicated that it was only a 20m walk from the visitor center area. Believe it or not, it was possible to bypass this section of walking by taking a tram to that visitor center area. We didn't do the tram option as we thought it was a little overkill.

Given how pretty the falls was, it was no wonder why there was such bustle of activity. We had a good time taking photos from here while also chilling out and basking in the atmosphere of the scene. Come to think of it, perhaps the first waterfall might have been a perfectly fine swimming hole, but the second waterfall completely overshadowed it thereby causing it to become a victim of the lemmings effect.

After having our fill of the second waterfall (I recalled we spent quite a bit of time here), we finally started the race against time and climbed up to the waterfalls further ahead. It was a race against time because the park was said to close at 4:30pm with the last admissions at 4pm. We started hiking at 1:30pm.

On the way up, we were stopped at a check point where we had to register with the authorities there. In addition, I recalled having to leave some kind of collateral (a Thai baht deposit I believe) in exchange for the plastic water bottles we were carrying with us. Perhaps the thought was that the deposit would cover the potential clean-up costs in case the plastic was left behind.

I thought it was a good system (to minimize the amount of litter in the ecologically sensitive areas) though they probably should've charge a little more money to really make it attractive to bring the water bottles back here and get back the desposit.

It took a few more minutes of uphill hiking before we finally encountered the third Erawan Waterfall, which was called Pha Num tok (or Pha Nom Tok) and 220m from the visitor center. And like the first waterfall, this one also had lots of fish swimming in its plunge pool because most of the people chilled out at the second waterfall. However, this one was significantly taller than the first two (possibly 20-25m I think) though not nearly as wide.

Adding to the scenic allure of this waterfall was the colorful blue-green water of the plunge pool keeping us from getting all the way to the falls without swimming. It was up there with the 2nd waterfall as one of our favorites in the lot.

Further up the hike, the fourth Erawan Waterfall was more of a water slide. It also had a larger drop further downstream, but it was hard to see. We saw one person scoot himself on the rounded rock of the waterslide before finally letting gravity take over. This falls was called Oke Nank Phee Seah, and it was about 520m from the visitor center.

Continuing beyond the fourth waterfall, the trail became a little less steep as it followed the watercourse responsible for all the Erawan Waterfalls. Along the way, we noticed quite a few trees wrapped around with prayer flags as well as colorful silk-like garments. Our guide said that these were meant to have religious significance while also doubling as informal trail markers.