Why this ride
It goes by way of Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, Ta Phraya National Park and back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Thap Lan National Park and Ta Phraya National Park · 221 km
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 221 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 49
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Thap Lan National Park
If Thailand has a forest that deserves the word primeval, it may well be around Thap Lan. The park lies in the south-east of the Khorat plateau, between the Sankamphaeng range and the lowlands, and it is one of the pieces of the Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai forest complex that UNESCO listed in 2005. The name is said to come from a type of palm that grows in the area, and the park is known for its rich lowland rainforest, rare in a country where so much has been cleared for farming.
Read the complete Thap Lan National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Thap Lan National Park is where the day begins. Next is Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.
2. Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary
Near the Cambodian border, the forests of eastern Thailand are some of the wildest in the country, and Dong Yai is part of a great chain of them. The Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai forest complex, which UNESCO listed in 2005, covers about six thousand square kilometres of hills and valleys stretching from Khao Yai National Park to the Cambodian frontier. Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the five protected areas in the complex, together with Ta Phraya, Thap Lan and Pang Sida National Parks, and it forms a corridor for animals that need space.
Read the complete Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ta Phraya National Park.
3. Ta Phraya National Park
Ta Phraya is a protected forest on the Thai side of the Cambodian border, and it forms part of one of the great wildlife refuges of Southeast Asia, the Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex, which UNESCO listed in 2005. The complex stretches over hills and plains in several provinces, and it holds one of the largest remaining populations of Asian elephants in the country, as well as gaur, sambar, tigers in small numbers, gibbons and four species of hornbill. At dusk the great hornbills fly across the clearings with a rushing, wing-beating sound that carries a long way.
Read the complete Ta Phraya National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 111 km into the recorded legs you reach Ta Phraya National Park. Next is back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.
4. back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, late in the day. Next is Thap Lan National Park.
5. Thap Lan National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thap Lan National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Thap Lan National Park. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Thap Lan National Park to Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary
Thap Lan National Park → Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary is 67 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary to Ta Phraya National Park
Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary → Ta Phraya National Park is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ta Phraya National Park to back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary
Ta Phraya National Park → back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary to Thap Lan National Park
back through Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary → Thap Lan National Park is 67 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.