GraemeS
Sporadic user
I just spent a couple of nights in Kaeng Krachan two weekends in a row and thought I'd put up some info.
We live just north of Bangkok but it just took about 3 hours to get down to the park entrance, arriving around 8am and heading straight in. The road down is very good, but take care to follow signs to Panoen Tung since you don't need to go via Kaeng Krachan town or the dam.
Once there, there is a single road all the way to the summit, so there's no danger of getting lost if you stay on the road. If you're in a saloon you'll most likely only want to drive in the park when it's dry, but the dirt road is manageable in any car all the way up past Bankrang Camping Ground to the first stream. There is a timed one-way system, but if you are only going to the first stream then it is usually fine to go at any time.
Whilst there are things to see on the way up (we heard the owlet and knew where to look for the falconets), the very best place to stop and spend time is the second stream.
It's actually all just one stream, but the road crosses it in 3 nearby spots. Unless we have a guide (try booking through Baan Maka accommodation), we always drive to the first stream then walk to the third and back.
Near the second stream this time we saw the following, and more:
Black-naped Monarch nesting
Silver-breasted Broadbill nesting
Dusky Broadbill nesting
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
White-fronted Scops Owl
Greater Yellownape
Great Slaty Woodpecker
Grey-capped woodpecker
Crimson-winged Woodpecker
Greater Flameback
White-rumped Shama
Red-billed Malkoha
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Green-billed Malkoha
Greater Racket tailed Drongo
Orange-breasted Trogon
Bulbuls and smaller birds
In other places, memorable birds were the Asian Barred Owlet, Black-thighed Falconets, Red-bearded Bee-eater (feeding young), Great Barbet, Black-andred Broadbills nesting and Raffles's Malkoha.
The drive back to Bangkok takes considerably longer due to traffic and it's well worth staying a night first. We like Baan Maka and Bahn Song Nok, both of which have hides for seeing birds up close.
It's also worth noting that we're past the best time to visit (and the park will close during the raining season). Birds are nesting or preparing between March and May; coming this late means a bit less to see apparently, although Broadbills will be emerging in a week or two still.
We live just north of Bangkok but it just took about 3 hours to get down to the park entrance, arriving around 8am and heading straight in. The road down is very good, but take care to follow signs to Panoen Tung since you don't need to go via Kaeng Krachan town or the dam.
Once there, there is a single road all the way to the summit, so there's no danger of getting lost if you stay on the road. If you're in a saloon you'll most likely only want to drive in the park when it's dry, but the dirt road is manageable in any car all the way up past Bankrang Camping Ground to the first stream. There is a timed one-way system, but if you are only going to the first stream then it is usually fine to go at any time.
Whilst there are things to see on the way up (we heard the owlet and knew where to look for the falconets), the very best place to stop and spend time is the second stream.
It's actually all just one stream, but the road crosses it in 3 nearby spots. Unless we have a guide (try booking through Baan Maka accommodation), we always drive to the first stream then walk to the third and back.
Near the second stream this time we saw the following, and more:
Black-naped Monarch nesting
Silver-breasted Broadbill nesting
Dusky Broadbill nesting
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
White-fronted Scops Owl
Greater Yellownape
Great Slaty Woodpecker
Grey-capped woodpecker
Crimson-winged Woodpecker
Greater Flameback
White-rumped Shama
Red-billed Malkoha
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Green-billed Malkoha
Greater Racket tailed Drongo
Orange-breasted Trogon
Bulbuls and smaller birds
In other places, memorable birds were the Asian Barred Owlet, Black-thighed Falconets, Red-bearded Bee-eater (feeding young), Great Barbet, Black-andred Broadbills nesting and Raffles's Malkoha.
The drive back to Bangkok takes considerably longer due to traffic and it's well worth staying a night first. We like Baan Maka and Bahn Song Nok, both of which have hides for seeing birds up close.
It's also worth noting that we're past the best time to visit (and the park will close during the raining season). Birds are nesting or preparing between March and May; coming this late means a bit less to see apparently, although Broadbills will be emerging in a week or two still.
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