One of the more popular excursions in Khao Sok National Park is a viewpoint. The trail to this viewpoint is fairly easy and the footing is generally good. It does get a bit slippery when it’s wet, but there are trees to grab to assist yourself.

The trail up takes about an hour to ascend. In other words, you’ll be going up for about an hour.

As with everywhere else in the park, there are plenty of interesting plants, insects, birds and sometimes animals to see. If you’re into macro photography, there are lots of opportunities for close-up shots.

Once you get near the top, the trail changes from mostly hard clay to very sharp limestone rock. Care must be taken on this section of the trail.

The reward for putting out the energy to get to the top is a view of Cheow Lan Lake. At times, we’ve had Great Hornbills fly across in front of us… at eye level! Sometimes we heard the strange whooping calls of the White-handed Gibbon (Hylobate Lars) below us. The very bizarre Helmeted Hornbill tends to be in this area of the lake. Besides its strange appearance, it has one of the most unusual calls in the animal world.

Even if you don’t see any of these wonderful creatures, the view alone is worth the effort.

These photos do not enlarge.