Kayaking in Khao Sok’s Cheow Lan Lake. Get off the beaten track, get closer to nature .

Khao Sok National Park and the Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake) are two of southern Thailand’s spectacular highlights. Easily accessible from Khao Lak, there are many organised tours to Khao Sok Lake. Increasing in popularity, Khao Sok may no longer be the hidden gem it once was, however it is still possible to visit Khao Sok Lake, avoiding the crowds and getting well off the beaten track.

As part of Khao Lak Wired’s Get Off the Beaten Track series of tours, we introduce one tour aimed at true nature lovers, Kayaking in Khao Sok’s Cheow Lan Lake.

Kayaking in Khao Sok Lake is all about getting into the lake’s wilderness and discovering the abundant and diverse wildlife found once you get away from the crowds. The tour is perfect for wild animal lovers, bird watchers and nature photographers.

The Khao Sok National Park is supposedly the oldest tropical rain forest in the world. The Cheow Lan Lake or Khao Sok Lake was formed in 1982 when the existing valleys were flooded after the construction of the Ratchapraba Dam. The lake now covers an area of 165 km².

The jungle surrounding Khao Sok Lake is inaccessible by all means other than by traditional Thai Long Tail boats which operate the lake’s numerous waterways. It is one of the few places in Thailand free from roads, electricity and mobile telephone masts.

The Khao Sok Kayaking tour will take you to places seldom visited by the usual Khao Sok tours. Remote areas that require you spend at least two days on the lake, staying over night in floating raft houses.

As well as dense rainforest jungle there is plenty of wildlife in these quieter areas of the lake, including white sock gaurs and jungle buffalos.

There are plenty of primates inhabiting the jungle including the rare Lars gibbon. If you are really lucky sometimes you can spot wild Asian elephants on the tour.

If you are interested in birds, the Khao Sok lake is a bird watchers heaven. One of the highlights is the great hornbill bird which are often seen in the early morning along with two other types of hornbill birds.

The tour is hosted by some of the most experienced and knowledgeable guides working in the Khao Lak area.

Some of the guiding is also done by national park wardens who know the lake like no others.

Do not worry if you are not a big fan of kayaking. The tour organisers have chosen a very special type of kayak, one that requires very little effort, the Hobie Kayak.

“The Hobie Kayak Mirage Drive is the essential key ingredient to the tour“,

The Hobie Kayak is indeed a unique form of transportation to discover Khao Sok Lake. The Hobie Kayak requires minimum effort yet provides maximum propulsion. It is much simpler to use than traditional paddle kayaks and therefore easier for inexperienced kayakers. It is designed for stealth and is extremely quiet to operate.

This is extremely important for the Khao Sok Lake tour as it provides a silent, unobtrusive approach to get the guests closer to the wildlife.

The Hobie Kayak is also a very stable platform for nature photographers.

Discover Khao Sok Lake with True Professionals

The Khao Sok Lake Kayak Tour is run by a local ex-pat called Chris and Khun Sunai, owner of the renowned Khao Lak tour company Green Andaman Travel.

Chris originally hails from South Africa, where, as child has always nurtured a love of nature and the wilderness. His father was actively involved in wildlife conservation in Zululand and from a very young age Chris remembers heading out with his father and father’s friends from the National Parks Board on wilderness expeditions into the remote South African Bush.

After relocating to Thailand in 2007, whilst working on a snorkel liveaboard trip, Chris started to appreciate a certain type of tour, one with smaller groups that visited the more remote snorkel spots. Tours that included cultural visits to the Moken community on the Surin Islands and the less visited islands in the Similan Islands National Park, namely Koh Tachai.

Chris met up with Khun Sunai approximately five years ago and as they talked more they both recognised a mutual love of nature in each other.

So they both decided to create the Khao Sok Kayak Tour. Nai would provide his experienced local guides and superior local knowledge with Chris bringing with him his vast experience of true wilderness tours. Chris had also been a Hobbie Kayak dealer in the UK for two years, knowing the product inside out, added this as another essential part of the tour.

Bespoke Khao Sok Tours

When asked about the philosophy behind the Khao Sok kayaking, Chris emphasises the tour is aimed at small groups or private individuals only. The tour is about finding the remote spots for an intimate experience with nature away from the crowds, using an efficient kayaking system perfect for the job.

The tour has to be lead by only the most experienced guides, they have to be top notch. This is so important to the success of the tour that the guiding is perfect

Chris and Nai can run the Khao Sok kayak tour all year round. They offer a set two day, one night itinerary or a three day, 2 night itinerary but are also more than happy to create a bespoke trip based on the needs of their guests. Because they operate a small groups policy it is much easier to offer private tours.

Tips from the operators:

When booking a trip in Khao Lak to Khao Sok, be specific about what you want, what your specific interests are. Don’t get led into a trip that doesn’t suit your needs. Dig a bit deeper, do some extra research.

Out in the wilderness, if you want to get close to nature, approach in absolute silence, downwind and slowly, slowly, slowly.

Kayaking Khao Sok Lake Information

Khao Sok Kayaking Route Maps

Interested, why not contact us for more information?