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Useful Information about Khaolak, Police, Hospitals, Addresses and Telephone Numbers in Takuapa and Khaolak.
Overview and Detail Maps of Khaolak and the Beaches of Khao Lak.
Complete Listing of Hotels, Bungalows, Resorts and other Accomodation in Khaolak.
Transfers to and from Khaolak and Koh Kho Khao Island, Limousine Service, Airport pick up.
List of Excursions, Sightseeing and Activities available in Khao Luk.
The Weather in Khao Lac in high Season and during the Monsoon in South Thailand.
   
Coral Reefs are a protection for Islands and the Coast of Khao Lak and preferred Sites for Scuba Diving and Snorkelling.
Mangrove Trees grow along tropical Coasts and are permanent Living Area for many Sea Creatures.
Thailand's National Parks cover more than 10% of the total Country, however, Protection is often inadequate.
Khao Soke National Park lies South of the Isthmus of Kra and is easily reached within one hour's Drive from Khao Lak.
Koh Surin Marine National Park has some of the most exciting Snorkel Sites in Thailand and can be reached from Khao Lac.
Koh Similan Marine National Park is one of the World's Top Ten Dive Locations and in easy reach from Tab Lamu Pier, just 20 Minutes Drive from Khaolak.
Phang-Nga Bay National Park is sheltered by Phuket Island with more than 80 Limestone Islands rising from the shallow Waters.
The Brazilian Para Rubber Tree is today grown all over South East Asia with Thailand producing nearly Half of the World's Rubber.
5 Species of Sea Turtles live in tropical Sea Waters with some of them laying their Eggs on the Beaches of Kho Kho Khao Island during Night Time.
   
Photo Gallery of Khao Lak, Beaches, National Parks, Landscapes of Khaoluk.

Articles about Khao Lak:
Rain Forests

Dipterocarpus Tree

Equatorial rain forests consist of tall closely set trees whose crowns form a continuous canopy of foliage and provide dense shade for the ground and lower layers. Tree leaves are broad and evergreen and the crowns tend to form into two or three layers, of which the highest layer consists of scattered emergent crowns rising to 40 m.
Typical of the equatorial rain forest are lianas, thick woody vines supported by the trunks and branches of the trees. Some are slender like ropes, others reach thicknesses of 20 cm.

Rain Forest Rain Forest

Epiphytes are numerous using the trunk, branches or foliage of trees and lianas solely as a means of physical support. They are of many plant classes and include ferns, orchids, mosses and lichens. Some epiphytes are stranglers, sending down their roots to the soil, eventually surrounding the tree and ultimately replacing it.

An important characteristic of the equatorial rain forest is the large number of trees that coexist. As many as 3000 species may be found in 1 square kilometre. The floor of the forest is usally so densely shaded that plant foliage is sparse close to the ground and gives the forest an open aspect, making it easy to traverse. The ground surface is covered only by a thin litter of leaves. Rapid consumption of dead plant matter by bacterial action results in the absence of humus in the soil.

Equatorial rain forests are limited to the Amazon basin, the Congo lowland and the South East Asian islands of Sumatra, Borneo and New Guinea.

Deciduous Forest

From 10º latitude North and South to the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn equatorial rain forest is substituted by tropical rain forest along windward coasts. Here we find a distinct annual precipitation and temperature cycle, resulting in fewer species and lianas.

Emergent Tree

Epiphytes are, however, abundant due to continued exposure to humid air and cloudiness of the coastal hills and mountain slopes.
Tropical rain forest is typical for the Carribian Islands, the eastern coasts of Brazil and Madagascar and the western coasts of India, Burma and Thailand. Khaolak and Khao Sok National Parks are covered by tropical rain forest and have been declared national parks to protect the few remaining rain forests of South East Asia.

Monsoon forests present a more open tree growth than the equatorial and tropical rain forests. Consequently, there is less competition among trees for light but a greater development in the lower layers. Trees have massive trunks with thick and rough bark reaching a height of only 35 m.

Jungle

The most important feature is the deciduousness of most of the tree species, with the teakwood tree (Tectona grandis) being the most important one among them. This is a response to a climate where a long rainy season alternates with a dry and cool season. Typical monsoon forests cover inland Burma, northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Where the forest has been cleared by cutting and burning, the returning plant growth is low and dense and may be described as jungle. It can consist of of a tangled growth of lianas, bamboo scrub, thorny palms and thickly branching shrubs, constituing an impenetrable barrier to travel in contrast to the open area of the rain forest.

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E-mail: mail@khaolak-info.net | Updated: 29 August, 2008

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