Khao Khitchakut National Park

(0) Khao Khitchakut National Park Home / National Park / Khao Khitchakut National Park Number of visitors: 33845 Last edited: October 17, 2021 Khao Khitchakut National Park belongs to all Thai people. Please help preserve it for our children. General information In 2013, the Phra Bat mountain will be open for climbing between February 11 - April 11, 2013. We invite tourists to climb Phra Bat mountain to worship the Buddha's footprint, see the scenery and various strangely shaped rocks. Khao Khitchakut National Park is located in the Khao Khitchakut or Phra Bat forest area, Makham District and Khao Khitchakut Subdistrict, Chanthaburi Province. It consists of mountains and beautiful scenery. The highest peak is 1,000 meters high. There are beautiful natural conditions such as Krathing Waterfall and geological phenomena related to Buddhist legends, especially in terms of religious beliefs about the Buddha's footprint on Khao Khitchakut. It covers an area of ​​approximately 58.31 square kilometers or 36,444.05 rai. In 1958, the President of the Niyom Prai Samakhom Association wrote to the Minister of Agriculture, proposing to preserve Khao Khitchakut forest in Chanthaburi Province as a habitat for animals and establish it as a national park. The Royal Forest Department therefore ordered the Sri Racha Forest District to coordinate with the Chanthaburi Provincial Forest Department to proceed and issued Order No. 852/2517 dated July 30, 1974 for Mr. Sompol Wannakun, a forestry expert, to conduct a preliminary survey. The survey results, according to the survey report dated June 16, 1975, found that the area was mountainous and complex, with beautiful natural conditions, including caves, waterfalls, and abundant wildlife, making it suitable for establishing a national park. The National Park Division, Royal Forest Department, therefore proposed to the National Park Committee, which resolved in its 2/2518 meeting on October 22, 1975, that it be appropriate to issue a royal decree to designate the Khao Khitchakut forest area as a national park. The Royal Forest Department therefore proceeded to request the revocation of Khao Khitchakut Forest, which was a national forest reserve, according to the Ministerial Regulation No. 49, announced in the Government Gazette, Volume 82, Part 39, dated May 11, 1965, from being a national forest reserve first, with an announcement in the Government Gazette, Volume 93, Part 108, dated September 7, 1976. Later, Khao Khitchakut Forest was established as a national park, with a royal decree defining the Khao Khitchakut forest area in Tambon Takhian Thong, Tambon Chaman, Tambon Phluang, and Tambon Wang Saem, Makham District, Chanthaburi Province, covering an area of ​​36,687 rai or 58.70 square kilometers, as a national park. It was announced in the Royal Gazette, Volume 94, Part 38, dated May 4, 1977, as the 14th national park of Thailand. Later, a royal decree was issued to revoke some areas, totaling 242.95 rai, announced in the Royal Gazette, Volume 115, Part 64 A, dated September 24, 1998, leaving the Khao Khitchakut National Park area of ​​36,444.05 rai or 58.31 square kilometers. Topography The general topography is steep mountains due to the pushing of the earth's crust. The base rocks are igneous rocks such as granite, Jurassic period, approximately 135-180 million years old. The eastern side is very steep. The mountain ridges run in a northwest-southeast direction. The foothills in the southeast are slightly steep. The highest mountain is Khao Phra Bat, approximately 1,085 meters above sea level. There is a small plain to the west. On Khao Phra Bat, there are large, smooth round rocks scattered everywhere, especially in the area of ​​the Buddha's footprint, where there are very large rocks that can be seen from the plain outside the national park. The high mountains in Khao Khitchakut National Park are the source of important streams such as Khlong Krathing, Khlong Takhian, Khlong Thung Ple, Khlong Phluang, etc. These streams are the main source of water for the Chanthaburi River. Climate The climate in Khao Khitchakut National Park is influenced by the northeastern monsoon and the southwestern monsoon. From mid-October to mid-February, the weather is cold with clear skies. From mid-May to mid-October, the air is very humid, with clouds and heavy rain. The average rainfall is 2,900 millimeters per year. The summer season from February to April is the time when the influence changes from the northeastern wind to the southwestern monsoon. The average temperature throughout the year is 27 degrees Celsius. Flora and fauna The ecosystem in Khao Khitchakut National Park can be divided into two main types: tropical rainforest, which covers most of the national park; Plant species include red rubber, krabak, yong, mako, bunnak, luk ding, saraphi, nian dam, mafai, chik dong, masaeng, dee mai, lueat buffalo, samrong, krabok rang, etc. and the hill evergreen forest will be higher than 800 meters above sea level or will be found only on the mountaintop such as Khao Phra Bat Phluang. Plant species found include mako, krabok rang, saraphi, bunnak, tamang, borneol, plong, koh hiea, chanbai yai, rong, phlub, cinnamon and dee mai, etc. As for wildlife, since the forest is in a steep mountain range and the people living near the national park do not hunt animals because they already have a stable and lucrative occupation, which is fruit farming. Therefore, wildlife is still abundant, such as elephants, gaurs, fishing cats, black bears, deer, barking deer, goral, wild boars, crowned gibbons, large porcupines, striped civets, lesser mongooses, forest rabbits, squirrels, multi-colored bats, field quails, Chanthaburi white-backed pheasants, jungle fowls, wagtails, peacock doves, large squirrels, field centipedes, koel birds, yellow-headed bulbuls, fish-tailed serpents, magpies, yellow-breasted sunbirds, yellow turtles, thorn-tailed geckos, house geckos, red-headed geckos, lizards, monitor lizards, house skinks, pythons, yellow-bellied silkworm snakes, house toads, lotus frogs, house frogs, etc. In the streams, you can find sand carp, red-tailed minnows, garterfish, sand chiggers, stonefish, yellow catfish, flatfish, Thai gourami, gobies, bullfish, and stingrays.