Khao Luang (, ) is the tallest mountain in southern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It is in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

Geography

The Khao Luang mountain is the highest summit of a massif of several hills with steep slopes. It is part of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Range, a subrange of the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range (, ; , , ; ) is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mo ...

. Geologically this mountain formation consists of a granite core under loose soils. On steep slopes, the soil covering the mountains can cause

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s when saturated with water. Some of the forests of the area were felled to give way to

rubber plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

Khao Luang National Park

Khao Luang National Park is named after Khao Luang mountain. The park is mountainous with many tall peaks along its range. The park covers an area of 356,250 rai ~ with a large variety of wildlife and habitats, including mountains, forests, rivers and waterfalls. The park was designated a national park on 18 December 1974, becoming the ninth national park in Thailand. The headquarters of the park is from the town of

Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat (, ; from ) is a city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') located in Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat, the capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is situated in the South of Thailand. It is about s ...

. The mountainous park is a watershed for the Tapee River, Pakphanang River, Klai River and Pakpoon River, Nopphitam.

Climate

Due to the park's location on the peninsula, it receives

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

s from both the east and the west coasts and means that the park receives rain all year and also cold weather. There are two main seasons. Rainy season from May to January with the heaviest rainfall between October and December. Hot season is between February and April. Over the year the park receives approximately of rainfall. The highest temperatures range from to and the lowest from to in January and February.

Flora and fauna

Moist evergreen forest, which can be found in the valleys and in damp gullies and riversides. Hill evergreen forest and lower montaine forest. Over 300 species of orchids can be seen within the park. Khao Luang is the only place in the world where some of these can be found. There are no fewer than 327 species of animals living in Khao Luang, some of these include;

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir, oriental tapir, Indian tapir, piebald tapir, or black-and-white tapir, is the only living tapir species outside of the Americas. It is native to Southeast Asia from ...

, Sumatran serow, pig-tailed macaque, Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine,

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...

, barking deer,

sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe huntin ...

binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverridae, viverrid native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on th ...

, panther,

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

, wild pig, banded langur and spectacled langur. Bird species include

black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), also known as the Indian red junglefowl (and formerly the bankiva or bankiva-fowl), is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the a ...

, great argus pheasant, crested fireback pheasant, white-crowned hornbill, bushy-crested hornbill, great pied hornbill, helmeted hornbill, red-crowned barbet and

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

Similarly named locations

There are other mountains called "Khao Luang" at other locations in Thailand: * Khao Luang, Hui Yang,

Prachuap Khiri Khan Province Prachuap Khiri Khan (, ) is one of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It is in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some south of Bangkok. Neighboring provinces include Phetchaburi province, Phetchabu ...

, Namtok Huai Yang National Park. * Khao Luang (92 m) and Khao Luang Cave,

Hua Hin Hua Hin (, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district's population was estim ...

. * Khao Luang Cave Temple near

Phetchaburi Phetchaburi (, ) or Phet Buri () is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approximately 160 km south of ...

Geography

Khao Luang National Park

Climate

Flora and fauna

Similarly named locations

See also

References

External links