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Rainforest Trekking on Koh Lanta Island

You could enjoy a 1 day excursion to the last patch of lowland rain forest in Thailand. The forest is located opposite of Ko Lanta on the mainland.  You will walk along an exciting nature trail of 2.7 kilometres in length that leads through the forest and shows the exciting bio-diversity of this region. At the end you can swim in the clear water of the "Emerald Pool".

The Khao Nor Chuchi Lowland rainforest is really the last patch of virgin tropical rainforest left in Southern Thailand. The park is found in the Khlong Thom district just opposite Ko Lanta on the mainland. It is the the only place in the world where birds of the species 'Pittagurney', know in Thai as Taew Raew Thong Dam, have been found.

Tropical rainforest is the scientific term for a specific type of ecosystem which includes a unique range of plant and animal species. This is in direct contrast to a jungle which has no similar system of organization. Southeast Asian rainforests date back as far as 60 million years. Unfortunately, the forests are much smaller due to the human presence.

No other ecosystem on earth is as rich in variety of flora and fauna. Up to 250 different species of trees can be found in a hectare of virgin rainforest, as opposed to European mixed forest, in which one may find perhaps twelve different species. Worldwide, tropical rainforests are home to more than 3,000 different species of trees, many as yet, unnamed and undocumented.

The same wide variety of species also applies to the animal kingdom. Most of the life exists in the canopy of the trees, as high as 40 meters or more above the forest floor. In the past, tropical rainforests covered much of the globe. Today, however, most have disappeared. Scientists are concerned that this could have an effect on global climate.

As recently as fifty years ago, about 65% of Thailand was covered by virgin tropical rainforest. Today, that figure is around 10% with most of the remaining rainforest existing in the highlands of the north.

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