The main road at dawn and dusk is where elephants are encountered, crossing between forest blocks or feeding at the verge. Khao Yai holds a substantial wild population, and encounters from a vehicle are common enough to plan for. Keep your distance and never block an animal's route.

The grasslands and salt licks at Nong Phak Chi and elsewhere have watchtowers overlooking clearings where sambar, muntjac, gaur and elephants come to drink and lick minerals. Sitting at one of these towers at first or last light is the most productive thing to do in the park.

The forest trails around the visitor centre hold white-handed and pileated gibbons — heard at dawn far more often than seen — along with macaques and, at night on the roads, civets and porcupines.

The fruiting fig trees are the hornbill sites. Khao Yai holds four hornbill species including the great hornbill, and a fruiting tree will hold them for days. Rangers know which trees are in fruit.

Haew Suwat and the other waterfalls are the tourist draws, worth an hour but not where the wildlife is.

November to February is cool and comfortable; March to May is hot and better for animals at water. The rains from June to October make trails slippery and leeches abundant, but the forest is at its best.

Practicalities

Khao Yai is around three hours from Bangkok by road. Park accommodation and campsites can be booked in advance; staying inside is what buys you the dawn and dusk hours.

Night drives are run by park rangers from the visitor centre and are worth doing. Guides based in Pak Chong outside the park know the current elephant movements and fruiting trees, and materially improve a short visit.