NATURE
Nature & Outdoor
A visit to a Thai beach is often the highlight of a trip to Thailand
People Love To Explore Beaches and Islands
Thailand is a country with abundant natural resources, including a wide variety of flora and fauna, and distinct ecological zones. There are over 100 Thailand national parks, including more than 20 marine parks, and each park features unique attractions, outstanding facilities, and opportunities to see animals in Thailand. Those interested in trekking, mountain biking, photography, birding, camping, scuba diving, or getting up close to exotic animals in Thailand have many options to choose from.
A visit to a Thailand beach or one of the many Thailand islands is an opportunity for visitors to relax, experience exotic marine life, or even learn to scuba dive. However, across Thailand, whether at a beach, island, or Thailand National Park visitors will discover unique flora and fauna and distinct ecological zones, from the temperate forests of the northern mountains and the plains of central Thailand to the savannahs of the northeast and the mangrove forests of the southern coasts. Animals in Thailand include not only elephants and monkeys but also bears and whale sharks, the world’s largest fish.
Visiting a Thailand beach or island is the preferred holiday for hundreds of thousands of visitors to Thailand every year. Thailand is blessed with natural beauty and its islands are amongst the most scenic and beautiful in the world. Likewise, each Thai beach, such as Karon Beach in Phuket, Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui, or picturesque Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi, is simply stunning, and many feature powdery sand, crystal clear water, and postcard-perfect scenery.
National Parks
For any traveler wishing to explore the wonders of nature, a Thailand National Park is an outstanding destination. There are many forest parks if you long to explore the tropical rainforest or travel deep into the wild jungle to see some of the exotic animals in Thailand. If you prefer scuba diving, snorkeling, or sea kayaking there are a number of national marine parks in the south and east of Thailand that are simply stunning.
In fact, Thailand has over 100 national parks, including more than 20 marine parks; each park in Thailand contains unique flora and fauna as well as basic amenities, including some bungalows with electricity and grounds for camping (even if you don’t bring your own tent.) Most of these parks are easily accessible and admission fees are relatively modest, though booking ahead is often recommended as some parks are very popular with Thai visitors, particular over long holiday weekends.
Eco-oriented activities at a national park in Thailand range from trekking, kayaking, nature photography, camping and snorkeling to spotting exotic birds and other animals in Thailand unlike those found elsewhere in the world. However, simply relaxing and enjoying the pristine beauty of unspoiled Thai nature may be the most rewarding experience of all.
FLORAS AND FAUNAS
Plants and animals in Thailand are both unique and diverse. Thailand’s geography, which stretches from the coasts of the Malaysian Peninsula to the mountains of mainland Asia, features a variety of climates and thus a diversity of plant and animal species.
Despite a majority of Thailand having been converted to agriculture over the centuries, natural forest still covers roughly 25% of Thailand’s area. Thailand’s woodlands mostly consist of monsoon forest and rainforest, which are differentiated by the amount of rainfall each receives. Furthermore, monsoon forests typically consist of deciduous or hardwood trees, which shed their leaves during the dry season in order to conserve water. Thailand’s most useful hardwood is the teak.
The rainforest zones are mostly covered with evergreen trees, although much of Thailand has considerable overlap and it is not uncommon to find bamboo, coconut palms, and banana trees throughout the country. Across the in the coastal lowlands, in addition to more predominately rainforest cover, mangroves and rattan abound.
In addition to the aforementioned Teak, Thailand is famous for its variety of fruit and flower-bearing trees and plants, the most iconic of which is the orchid, Thailand’s national flower, which appears in over 27,000 different varieties.
While encroachment on their habitat has reduced the populations of many exotic animals in Thailand, there are still a great variety of indigenous species. The most iconic of these is the Elephant, of which roughly 1,000 remain in the wild, mostly within the National Parks in Thailand. Among the larger mammals are the tiger, leopard, Malaysian sun bear, sambar deer, otter, and civet cat. Climbing animals include the gibbon and many species of monkeys. There are also sheep, goats, oxen, tapirs, wild cattle, wild hogs, and a wide variety of snakes, including cobra. Crocodiles, lizards, and turtles are also very numerous and fish abound in the rivers and coastal waters.
Finally, there are over 900 breeding bird species indigenous to or that migrate to Thailand. Bird-watching tours are particularly popular in Sam Roi Yot National Park and Khao Sok, which is home to six species of hornbill.
