Erawan waterfall (น้ำตกเอราวัณ)
GPS coordinates: 14°22’30.4″N 99°08’39.5″E (14.375123, 99.144306)
Entrance to Erawan national park in 2020: 300/200 THB for foreigners (adult/child), 100/50 for residents of Thailand. 8:00 – 16:00.
The most picturesque time: from September to December. Erawan waterfall usually doesn’t dry out totally, but there won’t be as much water as you see on the first picture (captured in December). About visiting national parks in Thailand.
Erawan waterfall is another one sight from the program of package tours to Kanchanaburi province. However in my opinion it is worth spending a whole day there – every level (and they are 7) offers the opportunity to swim and the length of trail along waterfall reaches 1,5 kms.
The most charming thing about the walk along Erawan is that all way long you are surrounded with murmuring water. And it’s no wonder why Erawan is considered to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Thailand. Besides 7 big cascades (that look totally different) there are about 100 smaller ones.
Infrastructure is also the advantage of this place. First of all one has a possibility to arrive here on a bus from Kanchanaburi. Buses are non-air-conditioned, but you can cool your body down swimming in the waterfall. Secondly you won’t be left without a glass of drinking water.
The itinerary along Erawan waterfall is obvious and well-marked, so you won’t need navigation. If you arrive in the early morning, you may get a chance to walk in silence. But it won’t last long: buses with tourists arrive here regularly.
The second level of Erawan is also captured on the first picture. Its plunge pool is deep and most of tourists stop here and don’t go further (and that’s a mistake). On this level you have to leave food that you brought with you. And if you wish to take bottled water with you, you’ll be asked to leave 20 THB deposit for each bottle. Your bottle will be marked and you’ll get the deposit back, when you present the bottle upon leaving waterfall area.
First 6 levels (especially 1 and 2) don’t require being a sportsman from you. But your shoes should be comfortable, slippers are a bad idea. The waterfall got its name from the way the 7th (upper) cascade looks – it reminds Thais of mythical three-headed elephant Erawan. To reach the 7th level, you’ll have to climb the rocks. This is how the trail looks:
At 15:00 rangers start to prepare for closing the park. They ask visitors to descend from upper levels. It means that if by 15:00 you have reached 5th level, you won’t be allowed to go further.
During Songkran (13-15th of April) water battles will be definitely held. So be prepared that you’ll have no chance to stay dry – it’s very popular place.
When I first saw pale orange net from afar, I thought to myself: “Who dares to leave rubbish in a national park?!” It resembles the net that is used for selling oranges or onions so much! But it appeared to be a beautiful stinkhorn mushroom. Despite of its name, fortunately, I didn’t smell anything (flies on its cap would probably disagree).
Map
Take the map of Kanchanaburi province with you – just click the star and it will be saved in your Google account. Any locations in this region that I will add later will appear on your map.
