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Officially Thailand’s 12th National Park, Erawan National Park is located in Kanchanaburi Province in Western Thailand. The most popular attraction is the seven-tier waterfall with emerald green/blue water. Within the national park, there are a number of caves to explore as well and you can even stay overnight in a tent or bungalow.

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How to Get There

Most tourists will usually do a day trip from Bangkok or Kanchanaburi town. If you’re doing a day trip from Bangkok, it’s not really worth it because it takes at least 4 hours one way by van. You won’t be able to take in the landscape and surrounding area. Plus who really wants to spend 8 hours inside a vehicle? Not me!

I had the opportunity to actually stay inside Erawan National Park on their campsite. Which is the best way to visit in my opinion. I went with a small group of friends and we rented a van for the weekend as our transportation.

Other ways to get there are:

• Train – Take the train from Thonburi station in Bangkok to Kanchanaburi town. From there you can take a bus to Erawan National Park.
• Van – Take a van from Mo Chit bus station to Kanchanaburi town and then take the bus to the national park.
• Drive – If you have an international driver’s license, you can rent a car and drive directly to Erawan Falls.
• Taxi – You can easily take a taxi from Bangkok to the waterfall. However, it may be challenging to find a taxi from the waterfall to get back to Bangkok. Public transportation within the national park is just to Kanchanaburi town by bus.
• Private car hire

Erawan Waterfall Entrance Fees

The first thing you’ll do once you arrive at Erawan National Park is to pay the 300 baht entrance fee for foreigners. It was about $10 USD. Thai Nationals are only 100 baht. Dual pricing is definitely a thing in Southeast Asia.

In front of the visitors center is the massive parking lot with coffee shops and restaurants. Since we stayed overnight in the national park we had to check in with the park rangers for overnight permits. I stayed in an air-conditioned bungalow for 800 baht per night. You can also camp in a tent, but if you camp you’ll have to bring your own equipment as rentals aren’t guaranteed.

The restaurants near the visitors center close at about 6pm so you have to bring your own food for an overnight stay. BBQ rentals are available from the camping office, just bring your own charcoal. Alcohol is not permitted in the park.

Things to Know Before You Trek Up the Waterfall

• Wear comfortable shoes as the trail can be challenging in some places
• Bring water in a reusable container and be mindful that the rangers clean the park. Don’t leave trash!
• There are no toilets after the third tier
• No smoking
• It can be very crowded, don’t bring anything valuable with you.
• The top tier closes at 4pm.

Erawan National Park Waterfall Tiers

Tier One

The first level is pretty relaxed. You’ll find a lot of little kids around here because the water is calm and not deep.

Tier Two

The second level gets more crowded because you can actually swim in the water. Bringing a picnic is popular and there is also a small food stand nearby.

Tier Three

The next level is when things start getting real. The depth of the water here is more than 6 feet. When you get into the water you’ll be greeted by plenty of fish that like to eat your dead skin. You can think of it as a free fish spa.

Tier Four

Level four is quite exciting because there is a natural slide within the rock formation. This is also the level where we saw the biggest fish. It’s a rocky area and you’ll have to do some climbing to get down to the water.

Tier Five

We didn’t stay at this level because it was getting close to 4pm. We wanted to get to the top before it started to close down for the day.

Tier Six

This level was shallow and not meant for swimming. But it is good for taking pictures. We also starting to see some monkeys in the trees. This area had the least amount of people because it is small.

Tier Seven

The last layer is where you will get the bluest water. It is also said to resemble an elephant’s head.

Overall, it took a few hours to hike all 7 layers. We were able to stay at most of the tiers for at least 45 minutes to enjoy the water before continuing to the next level.

If you were only going to a day trip, you wouldn’t be able to stay for as long or enjoy the water since you would be under a time limit.

Where to Next?

After finishing up exploring the waterfall, there are many other activities to do in Kanchanaburi. I was interested in learning about the Death Railway and Hellfire’s Pass. The Death Railway was constructed during WWII by the Japanese.

This part of the railway was the toughest to build because it went directly through a mountainous area. POWs had to carve through the rock with hand tools and dynamite. You can see carvings while walking in the passage. They worked in terrible conditions with little food and water. Handmade lamps made of bamboo were all they had for light during the evening. This bad lighting and the heat of Thailand gave the passage the nickname ‘Hellfire’s Pass’ because of its resemblance to Hell.

The memorial is run by the Australian Government. The center provides free audio tours while you walk through the center and down into the pass.

Back to Bangkok

A little secret pit stop on the way back to Bangkok is the Monkey Pod Tree. Don’t worry there aren’t any actual monkeys around here. The English name is a rain tree or saman. The tree is said to be 100 years old, but I think it’s older. What do you think?

More Bangkok Tips

• Staying in the city for a few days? Here’s a quick 3-day Bangkok itinerary.
• Did you know there’s a mangrove in the city only a short distance from the center? Here’s how to get there and what to do.
• Tired of going to Khao San Road? Here are 3 alternative places to spend the evening.
• Want to explore the Chao Praya River? Read this guide for 10 of the best things to see and do.