Erawan Falls – Jewel of Erawan National Park – with Mellow Adventures

January 2017 – When I started planning our month-long trip to Thailand, I wanted to be sure we saw some truly spectacular places. After doing many image searches for things like “the most beautiful places in Thailand,” I came across a photo of a waterfall that took my breath away.

Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

One tier of Erawan Falls at Erawan National Park in Kanchanaburi Thailand

I found out it was Erawan Waterfall which is located in Erawan National Park in Thailand’s province of Kanchanaburi. Not only did this waterfall look like something out of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the name sounded like it too!

Wondering if there were other gems like this in the province of Kanchanaburi, I found an image of Huay Maekhamin Waterfall in Khuean Srinagarindra National Park. If it was possible, that waterfall seemed even more stunning but was even more remote.

I wanted to be sure we would see these exotic waterfalls without any crowds, at our own pace and on our own terms, and I quickly realized it would not only be more efficient but would be more fun and we’d get more out of our experience if we worked with a professional and personal tour guide service.

Mellow Adventures, a company that has achieved TripAdvisor’s highest standard — the Certificate of Excellence — offers fully customized, private tours in Kanchanaburi that are designed to meet whatever unusual plans a traveler might have. When I emailed them that we wanted to be at Erawan Waterfall long before any of the commercial tour groups showed up, I got an email back saying: “We’ll pick you up at your hotel at 6:30 a.m.”

Perfect!

Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Erawan Waterfall

Not every vacationer wants to have an appointment at that hour, but we were on a mission to hike alongside these cascades without encountering anyone else on the trail, and we were thrilled at the prospect of photographing the many tiers of Erawan Falls for a few hours in total solitude.

The owner of Mellow Adventures, Steffen, is Norwegian and he is fluent in English and German and speaks Thai as well. He responded to my emails from the US very quickly, and in no time we devised a plan for two days of custom tours that would take us to both Erawan Waterfall and Huay Maekhamin Waterfall and also include a tour of a remote cave, kayaking on a river in the jungle and even sampling some good Thai food which he felt was critical to appreciating Thai culture.

When we finally met in person (rather bleary eyed) at 6:30 a.m. on the appointed morning, he introduced us to Mai, a young woman who had been a tour guide in Kanchanburi and at Erawan National Park for seven years before she joined the Mellow Adventures team last year.

As we drove to Erawan National Park together, we passed through an area that has several elephant encounter sanctuaries. Even though an elephant encounter wasn’t on our itinerary, it was fun to see the signs for these places on the road!

Elephant road sign in Kanchanaburi Thailand

An elephant road sign – How cool is that?!

Elephant road sign Kanchanaburi Thailand

…and with Thai writing to boot!!

Elephants are very important and much beloved in Thailand, and we saw many creative elephant decorations along the way, including elephant street lights!

Elephant lamp post decoration Kanchanaburi Thailand

Elephants decorate lots of things in Thailand.

Mai explained to us that the elephant is an integral part of Erawan National Park. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the god of thunder, lightning and rainstorms, Indra, rides a huge white elephant across the sky. This elephant has three heads and is known as “Erawan” in Thai.

At Erawan Falls, the highest of the waterfall’s seven tiers has three parallel cascades that resemble the trunks of three elephant heads.

Sign for Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Erawan Waterfall is named for a three headed elephant that is part of both Hindu and Thai mythological traditions.

In no time we reached the entrance to Erawan National Park and the Visitors Center.

Erawan National Park Entrance Sign Kanchanaburi Thailand

Now here’s a cool National Park sign!

Erawan National Park Visitors Center

The Visitors Center for Erawan National Park.

Our guide, Mai, has hiked to the top of Erawan Falls many dozens of times, and she described what we would see at each level as we hiked in. Erawan Waterfall is an extremely popular place to swim, as the waterfalls have many shallow pools filled with warm, turquoise water. There are posted guidelines for swimwear, but we found out later they aren’t strictly enforced.

Erawan Falls sign Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

This way to the waterfall — and please dress modestly if you go swimming!

The beginning of the trail is a wide, paved path, and it wandered through the jungle.

Hike to Erawan Falls Kanchanaburi Thailand

The hike began with an easy stroll on a paved trail.

Soon, we heard the sounds of rushing water, and then suddenly we saw the lowest part of the falls in front of us. The water was cascading from one flat slab of rock down onto the next.

Prettiest Waterfall in Thailand Erawan Waterfall Kanchanaburi Thailand

The lowest part of Erawan Falls has many wide, flat travertine slabs that form turquoise pools.

We ran to the water in glee, quickly scouting out the best angles to frame this tropical jewel.

Most beautiful waterfall in Thailand Erawan Falls Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi_

Look at those tree roots!

The pools of aquamarine water were so inviting, it seemed like a fairy land.

Best waterfall in Thailand Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

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Erawan Falls is actually a series of seven waterfalls, each with its own personality and flair. The hike begins at the lowest level and gradually climbs to the top, passing by each level on the way.

Erawan Waterfall Pool at Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

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As we hiked from one level up to the next, we found ourselves in the most deliciously thick jungle. The leaves of one plant were absolutely enormous!

Huge jungle leaves Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

The jungle leaves are huge and give great shade

We just loved the shapes of the rocks along these falls. There were so many places where the water formed a shallow pool on a flat rock and then fell over the edge, like Nature’s most perfect infinity pool.

Erawan Falls

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The hiking trail wandered alongside the stream as we climbed higher and higher, and we got glimpses between the trees of the water spilling over the rocks here and there.

Most spectacular waterfall in Thailand Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

We see a portion of the falls through the jungle trees.

At one point on the trail we came to a tree that was completely adorned in brightly colored women’s dresses. Mai explained to us that these dresses had been placed there as a token of thanks to the tree spirit Ta Kien Tong.

She told us that many Thai people ask this goddess for help or for blessings in their lives. When she responds by giving them what they requested, they show their appreciation by bringing her a beautiful dress.

Appreciative people said thanks to the tree goddess Ta Kien Tong by giving her a beautiful dress

The many dresses on this tree were placed here in thanks for blessings and good fortune that had been granted by the tree goddess, Ta Kien Tong.

The trees in the jungle are wonderfully gnarled with lots of exposed roots, and one had a fabulously twisted vine growing up its trunk.

Vine on a tree trunk

A twisted vine climbs the trunk of a tree.

Some vines are so strong they make a natural swing.

Swinging on a vine Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Our guide Mai enjoys a brief swing on a jungle vine.

As we ascended the hiking trail from one level of Erawan Waterfall to the next, we found beautiful surprises at every turn.

Top waterfall in Thailand Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Each tier of Erawan Falls was different.

The water was so clear in some places that we could see fish swimming just below the surface.

Fish at Erawan Waterfall Kanchanaburi Thailand

Fish were swimming at the base of the falls in some places.

The aquamarine pools were so inviting…

Turquoise pool Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Gnarled roots of the jungle embrace the rocks in a turquoise pool.

Favorite waterfall in Thailand Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

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The jungle was filled with unusual plants that we didn’t recognize and we saw some magnificent flowers too.

Exotic tropical flower Erawan National Park

Exquisite!

Perhaps the most wonderful surprise for me came as I turned a corner in the trail and looked up to see this image right in front of me:

Erawan Falls National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

We rounded a bend to see this view!

We crept closer, tip-toeing between the exposed and curving tree roots.

Stunning Erawan waterfall Kanchanaburi Thailand

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Again, we saw fish swimming near the edges of the turquoise pool.

Most beautiful waterfall Erawan Falls Kanchanaburi Thailand

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This was just too gorgeous — time for a selfie!

Travelers at Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

Two very happy campers at Erawan Falls!

The trail had switched from pavement to well packed dirt a while ago, and we were glad to have sturdy trail running shoes rather than flip-flops to hike in. Now the trail suddenly headed straight up a long set of stairs.

Stairs to waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand_

A long staircase climbed up the hill to the next tier.

And at the top was another stunning pool surrounded by ancient trees with wonderful claw-like roots.

Swimming pools Erawan Falls Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

What an exotic place!

I moved a little to one side, and again, I was blown away by the beauty of Erawan Falls.

Cascade at Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

We loved the endlessly changing cascades and pools.

We were now at Level 6 of the seven levels of the waterfall, and we paused to take stock. We had more hiking planned for the afternoon, and it was already very late in the morning.

It had taken us over three hours just to get this far, because we were so busy taking photos.

Sign for 6th level Erawan Falls Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

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The seventh level of Erawan Waterfall is where the three namesake falls — the trunks of the three headed elephant — can be seen. However, because there hadn’t been much rain lately, Mai said they didn’t have much water.

Our cameras were already bursting at the seams with all the photos we’d taken, and the hike to the seventh level would involve some scrambling to reach, so we opted to turn around at this point and head back down.

What a shock it was to see how crowded the trail had become at the lower levels and to see all the people swimming in the pools. The gentle spirit of stillness and solitude we had savored all morning was gone. But the pools sure looked refreshing!

Swimming at Erawan Waterfall Erawan National Park Kanchanaburi Thailand

A few hours earlier we had been alone at this spot!

As we hiked back towards the parking lot, we were surprised to see a warning sign for a cobra!!

Cobra sign Kanchanaburi Thailand

We’ve never seen an animal sign like this one before — yikes!

We didn’t see any snakes, but the flowers were lovely.

Beautiful flowers

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At this point, we had completed only half of our first day of tours with Mellow Adventures, and we had a lot more in store!

There’s more info and more links for Erawan National Park, Kanchanaburi and Mellow Adventures below…

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10 thoughts on “Erawan Falls – Jewel of Erawan National Park – with Mellow Adventures

  1. Beautiful photos for sure…..but I saw several bamboo vipers, cobras and anacondas in the photos…youmust have missed them….they were there….I’m pretty sure!

  2. Loved the waterfall pictures! I’m so glad you made this trip… We are now in Tucson, perhaps we will meet up again soon

  3. Beautiful photos! Curious what time of year were you there? I’m thinking of going but here it may not be worth it during the dry season. I will be there in April.

  4. The photos are so nice and the article is very descriptive and informative. Thank you for sharing! One kind suggestion, if you love nature, especially in Thailand, try google Elephant Hills. They do tented camp and jungle elephant interacting activity and so on. Their website is https://www.elephanthills.com/. I’d love to see your future article writing on this place in such cheerful way like this one 🙂

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