Khuean Srinagarindra National Park

Khuean Srinagarindra National Park protects roughly 1,532 square kilometres of forest across Si Sawat, Thong Pha Phum, and neighbouring districts of Kanchanaburi province, declared a national park on 23 December 1981. The headquarters sit beside the Huai Mae Khamin trailhead, about 110 km from Kanchanaburi town. Entry costs 300 THB for foreign adults and 150 THB for foreign children; Thai nationals pay 60 THB and 30 THB. This is a ticketed national park, not the free wildlife sanctuary its old listing claimed — that designation doesn’t exist at this site.

Huai Mae Khamin’s seven limestone tiers are the headline reason people make the drive, and that waterfall has its own detailed guide on this site. What the park entity adds beyond the waterfall trail is everything around it: Pha Tad waterfall, a smaller three-tier cascade, Pha Sawan waterfall further into the forest, and reservoir access for longtail-boat trips out to caves and coves that the road doesn’t reach. The forest itself sits inside Kanchanaburi’s wider Western Forest Complex, one of mainland Southeast Asia’s largest connected wildlife corridors — home to elephants, gibbons, and hornbills, though sightings on a day trip are opportunistic rather than guaranteed.

Getting to the headquarters takes commitment. The most direct route follows Highway 3086 past Erawan Falls and Srinagarindra Dam, then climbs a steep, winding 35-km stretch of paved road to the park gate — figure 2.5 to 3 hours from Kanchanaburi town, longer in a large vehicle with poor ground clearance. Longtail boats also cross the reservoir from Tha Kradan Pier in about an hour, a better option when the road is wet. Staying overnight spreads the trip across two days without the drive twice in one: the park rents basic concrete rooms for roughly 900-1,200 THB a night, plus camping for about 30 THB per person with tent rental around 225 THB if you don’t have your own gear.

Watch out: Don’t book a driver on “Srinagarind” alone — that name gets you to either this park headquarters or Srinagarindra Dam, a separate free EGAT site 25 km away with no waterfall. Confirm which one before you set off.

Insider Tip: Arrive at the 08:00 opening if the waterfall trail is your priority — the car park and lower tiers fill by mid-morning on weekends, and the upper pools thin out fastest right after the gate opens.

For the specific waterfall trail and tier-by-tier detail, see Huay Mae Khamin Waterfall. For the free, no-ticket EGAT dam viewpoint on the same reservoir, see Srinagarindra Dam. Base yourself in Kanchanaburi for the wider trip.