Located 3 hours north-east of Bangkok, the picturesque high country of Khao Yai can’t be more different from Thailand’s bustling capital. Apart from quirky European villages with restaurants serving international and local cuisine, sprawling sunflower fields, vineyards, pretty farmland, and a wide variety of accommodation options ranging from world-class hotels to home stays, (all connected with rural roads and newly built modern roads), Khao Yai is also home to Thailand’s largest national park where wild elephants roam free.

Up there on the podium with some of the world’s greatest national parks, Khao Yai is Thailand’s oldest and most visited national park. Covering 2168 sq km, Khao Yai incorporates one of the largest intact monsoon forests remaining in mainland Asia, which is why it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Khao Yai (Big Mountain) attracts one million visitors a year. One of the largest forests in Southeast Asia, Khao Yai boasts four vegetation zones, spanning elevations from 100 meters to more than 1,400 meters. In its forest and savannah, the park supports a wild elephant herd estimated at 300.