Erawan Falls

[missedherB]

This is the first level of the falls last October, early in the morning (8:15am), very dark and overcast, it threated to rain all morning which not only added to the beauty of the place but also kept the temperature down.

It is the best time to visit.....me thinks.

 

[missedherB]

If you are going to visit Erawan Falls I would recommend staying in Kanchanaburi and doing a day trip out to the National Park. Kanchanaburi is not that much of an effort to get to, most hotels in Bangkok can arrange this, but if you wanted to do it by yourself then you have a few options.

 

By Car, hire a car with a GPS, I wouldn’t be able to find my way out of Bangkok without one, hire companies are online and at the airport or a taxi, this will cost between 1,500 to 2,500baht, and get you there in about 90 minutes

 

By Bus, they leave nearly every 15 to 20 minutes from the Southern (Sai Tai Mai) 5am to 10pm and leave from the Northern (Mo Chit) bus stations every hour. Costing less than 150baht and takes between 2 to 3 hours. They both arrive at the central bus station in Kanchanaburi and from there, it is no more than 100 baht to get you to the touristy center of town by baht bus, where most of the nice guest houses and restaurants are located such as Pong Phen guest house that I had mentioned earlier.

 

Mini Vans, taking your life in your own hands, these speedsters leave from Victory Monument, they seem not to have much of a time table and they only want to leave when they are full, with all the reports of accidents last year from these guys trying to break the land speed record I have never wanted to used them, but if you rocked up at 8am you could get a seat on one and wait till its full before leaving. I have also been told that they don’t leave much room for luggage.

 

By Train, two trains leave a day from the Thonburi Station, costing 100 baht a ticket, the first train leaves at 07:35 and hopefully arrives at 10:20, the second departs at 13:45 and arrives at 16:35.

On the weekend and public holidays there is a special tourist service from Bangkok’s main train station, Hua Lamphong Station, this costs 75 baht and leaves at 06:30….can you get up that early???

 

Level number 2.

[missedherB]

Getting to Erawan National Park from Kanchanaburi isn’t much of a hassle.

Back at the main Kanchanaburi bus station, where you arrived from Bangkok, buses leave every hour from 08:00 to 17:20 and take you to the main entrance of the park, cost 40 baht and takes about 90 minutes, the last one leaves Erawan at 16:00.

You can also arrange a private baht bus, taxi or guest house minivan to take you and bring you back, this will be up to your exceptional negotiating skills to get a good price.

 

 

 

Another early morning shot of the lovely level 3.

[Vessey]

Excellent, a combination of great pictures and really helpful advice! Thank-you!

[missedherB]

Cheers Vessey5,

 

 

Here are two more levels.

 

Level number 4.

 

 

 

 

Here is a friend of mine,Rick, back in 2009 showing you what you can do at level number 4.

 

 

And Level number 5.

[gogo dog]

I went swimming in the Erawan falls on my first visit to Thailand twelve years ago. Stayed in Kanchanaburi and rented Honda Waves to get to there. A great ride, locals very friendly, I guess they didn't see so many foreigners back then. Definitely far fewer tourists than in some of the pictures here.

[missedherB]

Hey gogo dog, 12 years ago, wow......it is a hairy ride on a small scooter now days, it is a very busy road after 9am and once those big coaches get on there it is hell, they take up the whole lane, would not like to be over taken by one of those buses while i was wobbling along on a scooter.

 

I would have loved to seen it back then.

 

Still on level number 5.

 

And these are some of the sights you will see between the levels.

 

 

[missedherB]

For me, going in October/November is the time to see the falls at their best but you do stand a good chance of getting rained on, also the path can be very muddy and slippery at this time, good foot wear is a must.

 

The Muddy path, this eats thongs (flip flops) for breakfast

 

Roughly halfway up, there is this shelter, if you are lucky enough to be near it when it buckets down.

 

This is what you will see on level number 6.

 

 

[gogo dog]

Hey gogo dog, 12 years ago, wow......it is a hairy ride on a small scooter now days, it is a very busy road after 9am and once those big coaches get on there it is hell, they take up the whole lane, would not like to be over taken by one of those buses while i was wobbling along on a scooter.

 

I would have loved to seen it back then.

 

All my pics are on colour negative film 6,000 miles away. I'll try to remember to scan some of them next time I go home.

[missedherB]

Just before level number 7, you will see a very large fallen tree, you cannot miss it as the path passes through the trunk, if you walk along it's length you will come to (IMO) the nicest level. A Lot of people miss this level as they are too busy looking down at the uneven path.

 

Walk to the end of this tree trunk and you will come out at an amazing water fall.

 

 

 

This is what you come to at the end of the log, a great place to swim and cool off.

 

 

 

[missedherB]

And then only a short climb to level number 7.

 

 

WIth respect to the negative comments about Erawan Falls, IMO this (so far) is by far the best natioanal park i have visited in Thailand.

 

Just remember, do not visit on weekends and public holidays and get there as early as you can (8am), or you will be surrounded by tourists, just like you.....Hope you enjoy....cheers

[Apex Photographic Studios]

Thanks for the info... I have never been, but have been meaning to go since last year around this time... Just been busy with other things...

 

I was going to be organizing a photo tour there (after I made it up there and scouted the place).... But, no way with all those people around.. LOL...

 

Cheers,

[missedherB]

Cheers, Apex, that would be a great idea, i visited again last month and rolled up to the gates at 07:15, had done it before but this time they told me to come back at 08:00.

 

I think it is a great place and you can stay in the park, this time there wasnt a lot of water flowing but it is still a beautiful place to visit, just get there before the crowds and if you rolled up at 8am you would be fine.

[missedherB]

Best time to visit Erawan Falls is during the wet season, not only is there a lot more water but far less people.

 

Level number 2 April 2012

 

Level number 2 October 2011

 

Just before level number 4 Feb 2011

 

Just before level 4 October 2011

[vermut12]

I've visited the Erawan falls today with a TG. Fantastic place. I highly recommend everyone to visit it.

 

I came by a minivan which leaves from the Victory monument in BKK yesterday. The price is 120 baht and it takes about 2.5 hours to get there. The minivan driver will also take you to your hotel. I told him to take us to the Pong Pehn Guest house which missedherB recommended but it was full already. So I dropped into a nearby hotel called Noble Night. 800 baht for a standard room. Clean rooms, everything is working, free internet. I was pretty happy.

 

Thanks to the advice on the forum I went to book a taxi to take us to the waterfall tomorrow morning before 8:00 am. The taxi options from the hotel were a pick-up car 1300 baht, normal car 1700 baht (the driver takes you there, waits you and then takes you back to Kanchanaburi). Seemed steep to me. Going by bus wasn't an option as I wanted to get there before 8:00 am.

 

I went to look for cheaper options outside and talked to a taxi guy. He told me that the cheapest way to go is on a motorbike if there were just 2 of us. I was skeptical at first since I knew that the waterfalls were about 70 km away from Kanchanaburi. But he told me that it's just 1 hour ride as the road is in good conditions and almost no cars if we go in the morning. So i decided to give it a try.

 

The bike cost me 200 baht a day (Honda click) and about 160 baht in petrol. We left for the falls at 6:30 in the morning. The road is pretty much straight and was almost completely deserted at this hour. I was driving at 80 km/h and it took us about an hour to get there.

 

The entrance for Farangs is 200 baht, Thais 40 baht, and motorbike 20 baht.

 

We arrived at about 7:40 in the park and the let us in no problem. There were only 2 other people who arrived on a taxi from BKK before us. So we pretty much had the falls to ourselves (because we met the other 2 as they were going down already). Very fantastic feeling when you are alone there with no hordes of tourists. And it's not hot yet (because it gets really hot later in the day). So was a very pleasant stroll.

 

As we were descending at around 10:00 am there were hordes of various tourists (Thais, Farangs, Chinese, Japanese). The lower levels were already filled with 10-15 people at the same time. The water already dirty (when we came the water was very clean, but people tend to raise the sand from the bottom and it starts looking dirty a bit after).

 

There is a nice food court outside the park. Very cheap and tasty. We had somtam, noodles with beef and grilled chicken for 120 baht.

 

When we returned to Kanchanaburi we stopped by the bridge to take some fotos and to walk over it. Then went to the Thailand-Burma railroad museum (very good museum telling you the story of this railroad and people who built it). The entrance was 120 baht + you get a coupon for a free tea or coffee (I think they hope you will buy a cake to eat with your free tea or coffee).

 

Then we took an evening train to BKK. 100 baht per person and takes about 3 hours to get back.

[missedherB]

Thanks for the reply vermut12 and also for the latest up to date travel infomation, i am sure it will be of help to people thinking of visiting.

 

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your visit and at 07:40 with only two other people in the park it is hard not to enjoy. It really is an amazing place to be at that time in the morning with no one else around......thanks again.

[gareth]

any info on getting there from Pattaya or is it easier from BKK also whats it like in March

[missedherB]

Hey Gareth, I always start my Thailand trips from Pattaya and when going to Kanchanaburi I do a stop over in Bkk for 1 or two nights, I have driven back to pattaya directly from Kanchanaburi but it is a very tiring drive, im not sure if there are any direct busses or mini vans that go directly to Kanchanaburi from pattaya, it is a long drive in one go, you would be looking at 4 to 5 hours.

 

Anytime is a good time to explore Erawan Falls so March would be ok, as vermut12 said, best to get there early before the crowds, you can also stay in the park, they have a few different types of accommodation there, even camping and you can hire tents from them.

[missedherB]

Some of the accommodation on offer in the park…..

[rob63]

Looks awesome. Just added on my to do list