About Sri Nakarin Dam
Sri Nakarin Dam National Park is located north of Erawan National Parks in Sai Yok, Sri Sawat and Thong Pha Phum districts of Kanchanaburi Province. The park is named after the adjacent Sri Nakarin Dam that holds the reservoir on the east of the park.
The park is mainly famous for Huai Mae Khamin Falls, which is more easily walked through than Erawan Falls, perhaps more beautiful and more importantly not as crowded because it is in a relatively remote area. The park also has several caves and hot springs.
Sri Nakarin Dam National Park covers an area of 1,532 km² and was designated as a national park in 1981.
Visiting
Huai Mae Khamin Falls which is the park's main attraction is 240 km north/west from Bangkok, 110 km from Kanchanaburi and around 43 km from Erawan Falls intersection. Due to its remote location, the park is not as popular/crowded as Erawan National Park and that makes it a fantastic destination for those who give a bit more effort to get there.
There is no public transportation option to the park, so visitors need to arrange private transportation into the park. The bit of road from Erawan Falls to Huai Mae Khamin Falls is quite narrow, but paved nowadays, accessible with regular cars or motorcycles.
Entrance fees & opening times
As of June 2022, the entrance fees are 400 Baht for adults and 200 Baht for children 3-14 years old. Thai citizens pay 60 Baht for adults and 30 Baht for children. Cars charged 30 Baht and bikes 20 Baht.
The opening times for the park is 6 am until 4:30 pm (entering), park gets closed at 5 pm.
Stay & eat
There is a spacious campsite and a number of park accommodations for rent at the visitor center vicinity of the Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall visitor center area. There are no other private hotels nearby.
Park accommodations
There are a number of concrete rooms for rent, these are;
- 900 Baht for 3 people, 1 bedroom
- 1,200 Baht for 4 people, 2 bedrooms
The park accommodations can be booked through the DNP website in advance. As the money transfer must be done within 2 days and the fact that it takes time with transfers from abroad, it is only possible to book from within Thailand only. Payments can be done at 7-Eleven convenience stores or banks.
If the rooms are available, they can be booked on spot. There is a good chance they are available on arrival during the weekdays Mon to Fri (except for the holidays).
Camping
There are two waterfalls at Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall campsite, read more details further below on the attractions section. While it is possible to rent tents from Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall, the visitors need to bring their own tent for camping at Pha Tad Waterfall.
There are tents to rent from the visitor center of the park, these are in three sizes;
- 200 Baht for 2 pax
- 250 Baht for 3 pax
- 600 Baht for 4-5 pax
A set of accessories including a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat and a pillow costs 60 Baht per person to rent.
Eat
There are restaurants at both campsites, in a short walking distance from the park accommodations. The restaurants open at 7 am but have irregular closing times, normally around 5 pm during weekdays and around 7-8 pm on the week-end and holidays depending on how busy.
The attractions of Sri Nakarin Dam
Huai Mae Khamin Waterfall
Huai Mae Khamin Falls is the main attraction of the park located at the east side of the park just a kilometer from Sri Nakharin Reservoir. It is a multi-tiered waterfall with 7 major tiers and many more minor tiers/ponds.
The trailhead to the waterfall starts from the eastern campsite near the reservoir, continuing upstream mostly on a boardwalk. The trail ascends from 195 meters asl to the last tier at 275 meters asl. It is possible to swim in one of many ponds along the trail. The total length of the trail is 2.3 km long, including a bit of dirt road walk.
Huai Mae Khamin Falls historically has water all year round, but in the 2017 dry season for the first time the river feeding the falls dried out completely, the park was closed for the visitors until the rainy season.
Campsites
The national park has two campsites at Huai Mae Khamin Falls area, nearly 1.5 km apart. Both campsites have restaurants, toilet/shower facilities and smaller cantines. Mobile reception at the campsites can be a bit slow at times, but relatively good.
Campsite #1
The first campsite is at the east end of Huai Mae Khamin Falls, where the main visitor center is located and where the trail head for the waterfall tiers starts. Visitors who do not intend to stay overnight are recommended to get to this campsite for hiking along the tiers. The campsite is just a few hundred meters from the Si Sawat Reservoir.
The main trail head starts right behind the visitor center. The first few hundred meters of the trail is a dirt road through a bamboo forest, the rest of the trail is a boardwalk along the river, all the way upstream until the 2nd campsite for about 1.1 km. The trail continues after the 2nd campsite upstream for another 1.2 km through bamboo forests.
The campsite is quite spacious, has a restaurant, cantine, toilet and shower facilities. The restaurant has irregular opening time, closes 5 pm on weekdays and 6 to 7 pm on week-end and holidays.
Campsite #2
This campsite is at the western end, a bit more spacious and on a higher elevation with a very good view over the Si Sawat Reservoir. Visitors are recommended to head to this campsite for camping. The most impressive tier of the falls is located right next to this campsite.
This campsite too has a restaurant, a canteen and toilet/shower facilities. The restaurant has irregular opening time, closes 5 pm on weekdays and 6 to 7 pm on week-end and holidays.
Pha Tad Waterfall
Another beautiful 3-tiered waterfall, located on the west end of the national park, easily accessible, 140 km from Kanchanaburi. It is not just a secondary waterfall in the park, quite popular among local tourists and can be crowded during the week-end and holidays. The falls has low water levels during the dry seasons.
There is a spacious campsite next to the falls but there are no tents available for rent. The visitors need to bring their own tents with them for camping.
Pha Sawan Waterfall
A single tier waterfall located on the west side of the national park in Thong Pha Phum District.