The Thai waterfalls

The Erawan Falls are on the most popular spots in all the national parks of Thailand. Just a short trip from Kanchanaburi, it’s a beautiful place to relax.

Written by Michael Turtle

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle. A journalist for more than 20 years, he's been travelling the world since 2011.

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle and has been travelling full time for a decade.

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Erawan National Park, Thailand

Thailand’s Erawan National Park is named for the highest of the waterfalls within its boundary, which is said to resemble the mythical three-headed elephant, Erawan.

Cascading down from there, the water passes through six more falls – none of which are named after imaginary animals.

Erawan National Park is about an hour’s drive from Kanchanaburi, a town to the west of Bangkok on the way to the Myanmar border. The highlight of the park – and the reason most people visit – is the waterfalls.

A track about two kilometres long takes you from the first one up to the seventh. It winds through the forest, crossing over bridges, and occasionally hiding playfully, forcing you to clamber over rocks.

Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand

Only the dedicated and foolhardy (guilty as charged!) bother to go all the way to the top. There are plenty of good reasons to stop along the way.

More than half of the seven waterfalls have beautiful calm and azure pools to swim in.

There are also a few pleasant areas to rest for a picnic – but not after the second waterfall because the authorities won’t let you take your food past there. They’re worried about rubbish in the national park. “No food!”

Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand

Thankfully I had no food with me. But I did have to pay a deposit to take a water bottle up (refundable on proof you’ve brought it back down with you).

In case you have no plans to visit Erawan National Park soon, or in case you don’t want to abandon your food, I thought I would share some photos of the trip up the track.

Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand
Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand
Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand
Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand
Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand
Erawan Falls, waterfalls near kanchanaburi, Thailand

27 thoughts on “The Thai waterfalls”

  1. Very pretty! I love waterfalls. I also like that you have to pay a deposit to take a water bottle in with you. I hope that it cuts down on the amount of liter people leave!

    Reply
    • It’s a really clever idea to reduce the litter, isn’t it? I’m surprised more places don’t do something like that. It’s not even just about getting your money back – it makes you think more about the issue too.

      Reply
  2. I think I would be more than happy to abandon food to hike up and see these. That is really neat about the water bottle deposit. Seems like a good way to encourage responsible sightseeing without keeping people from having water.

    Reply
  3. Howdy! This article couldn’t be written any better!

    Going through this article reminds me of my previous
    roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I most certainly will send
    this information to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a good read.
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Looks incredible! My only worry is: How touristy is it? I read another blog that said unless you rent a bike yourself and get there early, it completely fills with tourists.

    Reply

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