First hike at 'Khao San Nok Wua'

Khao San Nok Wua: A 2-Day, 1-Night Adventure to the Highest Peak in Kanchanaburi

"Khao San Nok Wua, Khao Laem National Park, Kanchanaburi"

This towering peak, the highest in Kanchanaburi province, stands at an impressive 1,767 meters above sea level. The roundtrip hike covers approximately 20 kilometers and takes about 6-7 hours, requiring an overnight stay on the mountain. This short 2-day, 1-night trip is perfect for a weekend getaway.

Honestly, I had never heard of this mountain before. All I knew was that to climb it, you had to book a reservation with the park in advance. This was my first hiking trip, and I was determined to conquer the 1,767-meter peak. Let's do this!

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2-Day, 1-Night Trip

January 30-31, 2016

Conquering Khao San Nok Wua

Day 1:

• Overnight stay at Pom Pi Viewpoint (Friday night)
• Report to park officials at the designated meeting point near the viewpoint parking lot at 9:00 AM.
• Travel by park vehicle to the starting point at the base of Khao Hua Lon (approximately 10-15 minutes).
• Hike from the base of Khao Hua Lon to the campsite (approximately 6-7 hours).
• Campsite - Khao San Nok Lek (approximately 10 minutes).
• Khao San Nok Lek - Khao San Nok Yai, the highest point at 1,767 meters above sea level (approximately 10 minutes).
• Khao San Nok Yai - Campsite (approximately 10 minutes).

Day 2:

• Campsite - Starting point at the base of Khao Hua Lon (approximately 5 hours).
• Starting point at the base of Khao Hua Lon - Pom Pi Viewpoint (approximately 10-15 minutes).

(Note: Take a shower before starting the trek, as there are no shower facilities on the mountain.)

Report to the park officials (according to the list of those who have contacted to book) We came in a group of 8 people, which can be grouped into 1 group. In one group, there will be at least 1 officer to take care of us. We have contacted 2 porters (must be booked together). Then we got on the car that the officer had prepared for us. From this point to the starting point of the Khao Hua Lon walk, it takes about 10 minutes. We started walking at around 9.30 am. There were walking sticks to borrow at the starting point. I saw my friends pick up one each. I've never walked before, so I just followed what my friends did. It must be useful, I guess...

The first part of the walk was downhill, with large trees providing shade and making the air much cooler than outside.
We enjoyed watching the birds and the trees, and there were rest stops all along the way, so we took advantage of every one and didn't let any of them pass us by.

The forest soon changed to a bamboo forest, alternating back and forth.

After about 3 hours, we reached the lunch break point. We each brought a packed lunch and a bottle of water (you can also order lunch from the shops at the Phee Viewpoint).

The area has now become an open field, with a view of another mountain in the distance. My brother told me that it's called 'Radar Hill' and it's a military zone.

We kept walking uphill until we finally reached the campsite. It was already 4:30 PM when we arrived.

Our friends had already arrived and set up their tents. The porters had finished setting up our tent and brought us water. They had also started a fire for us.

Looking out from the campsite, no, let's call it looking from the tent, you'll see something like this that makes you forget your tiredness (actually, you don't forget it, haha). Walking and resting for 7 hours, turning back to enter the tent, I'm so sleepy.

The scorching sun began to set. As I exited the tent, I glanced to the left and saw the Khao San Nok Wua mountain range.
It dawned on me that we hadn't reached the summit yet, and we hadn't conquered Khao San Nok Wua.

It's 5:30 PM now. I have to hurry up. Compared to the scale, I'm just a tiny little thing. The officers are taking very good care of me. They're following me all the time.

I walked up and saw the sign "Conquered! The highest peak in Kanchanaburi Province, San Nok Wua, 1,767 meters above sea level, Khao Laem National Park". I was so happy, but wait, it's like déjà vu! I've already climbed San Nok Wua, why can I still see San Nok Wua behind this sign? 555
It turned out that what we saw behind the sign was the 1,767 meter point of 'Khao San Nok Yai', which we saw from the tent site and where we are standing now is 'Khao San Nok Lek'. They are two overlapping ridges.

The sky is starting to look beautiful.

Looking from the small ridge, in front of us is the 'Vajiralongkorn Dam Lake'

The appointment time with the last light began to chase after me in full force. I hurried up to the ridge of the big hill as quickly as I could.

Reaching the peak of the Great Ridge, at a height of 1,767 meters, the view stretches as far as the eye can see.

Looking down at the small ridge, try to observe the human scale. It's tiny.

Arriving slightly before the appointed time, the last rays of sunlight cast their glow upon the surface of the Vachiralongkorn Dam reservoir, before slowly disappearing behind the mountains.

The sky darkened in the blink of an eye. The blue is so clear and beautiful now, but I have to hurry down to the tent site before it gets completely dark and I can't see the way.

I don't want to leave yet.

The park rangers are always on duty.

We arrived back at the tent to find our friends already gathered around a meal. Oops, I didn't help at all! Sorryyyy!
Dinner tonight was delicious. Or maybe we're just really tired?

The sky was dark without light, the stars filled the sky. The wind was strong at the tent site, and the temperature was around 18 degrees Celsius, but the wind made it feel much colder.

Take a picture with the star

The sky is very dark, the stars are full of the sky, but unfortunately, the white elephant has not come to see it yet. Huhuhu
I have to say goodbye to the stars. It's very cold now. I'm going to run into the tent. Good night, stars.

Isn't it the same? On the days we have to go to work, we don't even want to get out of bed. But on the days we go on vacation, we don't even need to set an alarm clock. We wake up automatically to greet the first light of day. 555

Warm sunshine alternating with mountains, one after another

A light sea of fog this morning, this is the view while brushing my teeth.

Waking up to a delicious breakfast prepared by our porters was the best way to start the day.
We enjoyed our last breakfast on the mountain before packing our lunch for the day.
We then said goodbye to Khao San Nok Wua.

Saying goodbye to Kaoradha and the Vajiralongkorn Dam Reservoir

Walking down slowly, stopping to take pictures every now and then. Actually, I was also taking a break to rest. 555

The porters packed up the tents, cleared the area, and collected the garbage in bags before carrying it down. They then overtook us on the way down, just like they did on the way up.

This is 'Dog Retreat Hill', the downhill section is easy to walk and offers great photo opportunities.

The 7 members and the park officer, Mr. Chucheep,

started their descent at approximately 9:30 am and reached the starting point at the foot of Khao Hua Lon at approximately 2:00 pm.
The descent was comfortable, but there were some hills to climb, so we had to stop and take pictures quite often.
When we got down, the park officer's car was waiting for us. We were probably the last group to come down from the mountain.
When we returned to the Pom Pi viewpoint, the park presented us with a certificate of conquest.
The first forest was very fun, very challenging, very tiring, and very enjoyable.

Summary of expenses

Cost of guide: 1,000 baht
Cost of porters: 2,800 baht
Cost of transportation (round trip from Pom Pi to the starting point at the foot of Khao Hua Lon): 1,000 baht
Cost of food (breakfast and lunch on the way up): 720 baht
Total: 5,520 baht
Divide by 8: 690 baht per person

Excluding
Accommodation at Pom Pi Viewpoint
Food expenses for cooking on the mountain
Travel expenses from Bangkok to Pom Pi

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