Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary () is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

in Thailand's Chanthaburi Province. It covers the area around Khao Soi Dao Tai and Khao Soi Dao Nuea (south and north Soi Dao mountains), the two highest peaks in the

Chanthaburi Mountains The Chanthaburi Mountains () is a mountain range in Eastern Thailand. It forms the watershed between the Bang Pakong River basin to its north and several short rivers draining into the Gulf of Thailand. The Chanthaburi Range forms a westward con ...

Eastern Thailand Eastern Thailand is a region of Thailand, bordering Cambodia in the east, Northeastern Thailand in the north, and Central Thailand in the west. Geography Eastern Thailand lies between the Sankamphaeng Range, which forms a natural border with ...

, which form part of the much larger

Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains (, ; , ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the southwest part of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range is within Cambodia. The silhouette of the Cardamom Mountains appears in the Sea ...

extending well into Cambodia. The mountains are covered in tropical rainforest and the

Chanthaburi River 250px, Chanthaburi River in the phase of Mueang Chanthaburi District Chanthaburi River (), formerly and still colloquially known as Chanthabun River (แม่น้ำจันทบูร) is a river in Thailand, regarded as the main watercours ...

originates from the Khao Soi Dao Tai mountain. The wildlife sanctuary neighbours the smaller

Khao Khitchakut National Park Khao Khitchakut National Park () is a national park in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand. The park is located in the Soi Dao Mountains, the Thai part of the much larger Cardamom Mountains, and is home to waterfalls and forests. The venerated Buddh ...

to the south and

Khao Sip Ha Chan National Park Khao may refer to: * Khao, Iran Khav (, also Romanized as Khāv; also known as Khāo, Khāow, and Qala Khāo) is a village in Khav and Mirabad Rural District, Khav and Mirabad District, Marivan County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, ...

and

Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary The Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary () is a protected area at the western extremities of the Cardamom Mountains in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Founded in 1977, it is an IUCN Category IV wildlife sanctuary, with an area of 674,352 rai ~ ...

to the northwest.

History

Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1972 and covers , most of which is mountainous terrain. In 2007, the sanctuary was also designated as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA), thus of global importance for bird conservation.Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary
/ref>BirdLife International
Khao Soi Dao
/ref>

Fauna

Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary is the only IBA in Thailand supporting the globally endangered

Chestnut-headed Partridge The chestnut-headed partridge (''Arborophila cambodiana'') is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is found in highland forest in Cambodia, specifically the Cardamom Mountains. The Siamese partridge, subspecies ''A. c. diversa'', has some ...

(''Arborophila cambodiana''), but it is home to many more bird species of importance to global conservation. This includes

Siamese Fireback The Siamese fireback (''Lophura diardi''), also known as Diard's fireback, is a fairly large, approximately long, pheasant. The male has a grey plumage with an extensive facial caruncle, crimson legs and feet, ornamental black crest feathers, re ...

(''Lophura diardi''),

Great Hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. I ...

(''Buceros bicornis'') and

Moustached Hawk Cuckoo The moustached hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx vagans'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is evergreen and secondary forests. Threatened by habi ...

(''Hierococcyx vagans''), all of which are near-threatened on a global level. The colourful

Blue-rumped Pitta The blue-rumped pitta (''Hydrornis soror'') is a species of bird in the family Pittidae. It is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonal forest and subtropical or tropical m ...

s are here, and this is the only place in Thailand where this species live. Regarding mammals, the sanctuary is also home to a diverse range of species, with many threatened ones, including Asian Elephants ('' Elephas maximus indicus''), Tiger (''

Panthera tigris The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large 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 tradition ...

''), Asian Golden Cat (''

Catopuma temminckii ''Catopuma'' is a genus of the Felidae containing two small cat species native to Southeast Asia, the Asian golden cat (''C. temminckii'') and the bay cat (''C. badia''). Both have similar pelage, with solid reddish brown coloration on their bac ...

'') and Gaurs (''

Bos gaurus The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 mature individuals ...

'') are found here. For monkeys, the

Pileated Gibbon The pileated gibbon (''Hylobates pileatus'') is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The pileated gibbon has sexual dimorphism in fur coloration: males have purely black fur, while females have white-grey colored fur with only the belly ...

s (''Hylobates pileatus'') are notable. The sanctuary is known as a particularly good spot for watching butterflies, but other insects, such as dragonflies are also here in both abundance and diversity.

Flora

Close to all (85%) of the forest in Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary is monsoon evergreen forest, but patches of deciduous forest and bamboo thickets are also to be found.

Khao Soi Dao Waterfall

Khao Soi Dao Waterfall ( or

Namtok Khao Soi Dao Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary () is a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand's Chanthaburi Province. It covers the area around Khao Soi Dao Tai and Khao Soi Dao Nuea (south and north Soi Dao mountains), the two highest peaks in the Chanthaburi Mountains ...

) is a popular tourist destination in the wildlife sanctuary. It is 70 km from the town of

Chanthaburi Chanthaburi (, ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in the east of Thailand, on the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi District. The town covers the two ''tambons'' Talat an ...

.Wongkorawut, K., Wiwutseart, J. Nay RoobRuuChantaburi. Bangkok: Sarakadee press. It springs from Khao Soi Dao Nua at 1,556 meters above sea level and has a total of 16 tiers. The waterfall is located about 4 km from the Wildlife Sanctuary visitor center. The easy way to get to this waterfall, if you have a car is to go ahead from the city on Route 317 through

Makham District Makham (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the centre of Chanthaburi province, eastern Thailand. History The district was established in 1899, then named Tha Luang District. It dates back to an ancient Khmer city, which was under Thai rule sinc ...

and

Pong Nam Ron District Pong Nam Ron (, ) is the easternmost district (''amphoe'') of Chanthaburi province, eastern Thailand. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the southwest clockwise) Khlung, Makham, Khao Khitchakut, and Soi Dao of Chanthaburi province. To ...

. At km 62 you should turn left and go ahead 3 km. This waterfall is open from 6.00am to 6.00pm. The most popular attraction at the falls is nature trails because there is a huge tree of 4.77 meters diameter. The waterfall has 16 tiers created by multi-level stone cliffs which gives the impression of a giant stair. At the bottom is a vast pool with shallow water. The popular tier is tier 16 because this tier has a lot of moss on the stone. It feels fresh and is suitable for capturing. This tier is named “Phanangleun” Pha Nang Leun mean “Mrs. Slippery cliff” because the careless traveller can slip on the moss on a stone when he walks through. The source of the waterfall is near the Peak of KhaoSoi Dao Nua Mountain at 1,556 meters above sea level. The area suitable for butterflies watching and the study of plants.

References

{{Wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand Wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand Chanthaburi province Cardamom Mountains IUCN Category IV 1972 establishments in Thailand Protected areas established in 1972