Tak (, ) is a town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' ...

'') in north-west

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 ...

, capital of the Tak Province and the Tak district. As of 2005 the town had a population of 19,900 and an area of 7.27 km². It covers the ''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

'' Rahaeng, Nong Luang, Chiang Ngoen, and Hua Diat. It is on the Ping River, 418 km north-north-west of Bangkok.

Geography

Tak is on the Ping River, which runs from north to south through the town. While the land to the east is fairly flat, 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 ...

and Dawna Range lie to the west.

Climate

Tak has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''). Winters are dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at . On 15 April 2023, Tak measured the highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand, reaching , the first time that Thailand recorded a temperature over 45 °C (113 °F). The

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 ...

season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.

Transportation

Route 105, through Mae Sot, forms one of two major transnational roads through the

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. Route 1, also known as the Phahonyothin Road, passes through Tak. On the north side it leads to Lampang,

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...

, and the border with Burma at Mae Sai. On the south side it leads to Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. Route 12 leads east to Sukhothai,

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok (, ) is a city municipality in northern Thailand and the capital of Phitsanulok province. It had a city population of 60,827 and an urban population of approximately 200,000 in 2024, making it Thailand's 19th-most populous city p ...

, Chum Phae,

Khon Kaen Khon Kaen (, ) is the capital of Khon Kaen province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, fourth-largest city in Thailand. It is one of the four major cities of Isan, Northeast Thailand, also known as the ...

Kalasin Kalasin () is a city ('' thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2015, it has a population of 34,429 It covers the whole ''tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ...

, and the border with

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

at Mukdahan. Tak is served by Tak Airport, east of the town.

References

External links

*
Website of town (Thai)
{{coord, 16, 52, 16, N, 99, 07, 30, E, region:TH_type:city(19000), display=title Populated places in Tak province Cities and towns in Thailand