Travel Review: Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Erawan National Park

Situated around five hours from Bangkok, Erawan National Park is known mainly for its cascading waterfalls but is also home to various caves. Despite there being accommodation in and around the national park, I recommend using the town of Kanchanaburi as your base – it’s convenient to get to (there’s a direct train from Bangkok) and steeped in history. If you’re wondering how to visit Erawan National Park from Kanchanaburi then here’s everything you need to know about:

Erawan National Park, Thailand

How To Get There: Via local bus (#8170) from Kanchanaburi Bus Station – departs hourly (ish), starting from 8 a.m., and costs 50 Baht (one way)

Currency: Thai Baht

What To Expect: Altogether there are seven tiers of cascading waterfalls in Erawan National Park – each tier, or level, is marked and the distance to the next tier is also stated at each level. The hike to the last tier requires 45 minutes to an hour, with the level of the hike ranging from easy to medium.

Another reason people are intrigued by Erawan is because at almost every waterfall there are little fishes that nibble at the dead skin on your feet – consider it a free of charge “fish spa”. I don’t particularly enjoy the sensation so managed to find a secluded area sans fishes and the hordes of tourists.

To be honest, I have been spoilt by Tat Kuang Si in Luang Prabang, Laos, so after witnessing the might of that waterfall I was not overly impressed; if you’re on a budget or tight on time then I recommend skipping this destination.

Additional Information: In order to reduce litter, every visitor with a plastic bottle is required to pay a deposit of 20 Baht – the bottle will then be marked and upon returning with the marked bottle, you will receive your deposit

Price: The entrance fee costs 300 Baht

Other Recommendations: Whilst in Kanchanaburi, visit the infamous bridge over the river kwai as it was constructed by Malaysian (amongst other nationalities) POWs during the Japanese occupation. Nearby the bridge is also a market and a war museum – JEATH museum, with the entrance fee costing 40 Baht. Besides that, there are other war related sights in, around, and outside Kanchanaburi town.