Model park Erawan National Park in Kanchanaburi impresses visitors with neat gardens, cute facilities and clean nature that are a tribute to excellent management skills of park officials. Its most valuable asset is a seven-storey waterfall connected by regular bus service that drop visitors off right at park headquarters. The waterfall and surrounding areas are neatly maintained. Shops and the parking lot are well planned. Grass carpets the vast camping ground that offers an excellent view of the Kwai River. Toilets are adorned with colourful plants. Tourist accommodation is situated on beautiful gardens and a car-free road leads to the waterfall creating a sound buffer that protects nature from chaos triggered by arriving visitors. The park requires holiday-makers to observe a few rules designed to minimise pollution and damage to natural surroundings. Beyond a certain point, they are not allowed to carry food. "No foam boxes are allowed in the waterfall area. Instead, we provide paper plates free of charge to visitors wishing to carry food." said chief park officer Surachai Ajonboon, explaining that paper was easier to recycle than foam. The waterfall, at the seventh storey, resembles the head of an elephant, Erawan, the heavenly transport of God Indra, and it is this feature that gives the park its name. The waterfall attracts a large number of visitors everyday but not all them walk all the way to the top storey because it is a strenuous climb over a testing terrain. Most of them walk as far as the third tier beyond which they are not allowed to carry food, only water bottles. The park has set strict guidelines to keep nature clean. Tourist are required to pay a deposit for every bottle carried, which can be redeemed when they return with the bottle. "This regulation helps us cope with the huge amount of garbage visitors leave behind. Every month we welcome up to 30,000 tourists. That is not easy," the park officer explained. For its effort, the park was cited at the 2006 Thailand Tourism Awards for being the "most well managed natural park" in the country recently. The strict regulations notwithstanding, Erawan park has cute facilities to fulfill tourist needs. A kilometre-long electric car service connects park headquarters to the waterfall, ideal for elderly visitors and kids keen to admire the fall in all its full grace. Kayaks are available for excursion down the river and its creeks, while there are five nature trails that will appeal to those keen to learn about the forest and its environment. Erawan operates in conjunction with Sai Yoke and Khuen Sri Nakarin national parks in the same province. You can buy a day pass at any of them and visit all three parks on the same day. |