Top Ten Southeast Asia Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures

Incredible wildlife and the largest flower in the world: that's why you'll come to Khao Sok, Thailand's magnificent national park in Surat Thani Province in the heart of the southern Thai peninsula. Here you'll find 250 square miles of dense tropical rain forest, jagged limestone crags, rushing rivers and waterfalls, and an island-studded lake. The rain forest is all that remains of a much larger 160-million-year-old ecosystem that's said to be older and richer than any in Africa or Central America. Khao Sok is home to wild elephants, leopards, gaur, banteng, serow, sun bears, and even tigers, as well as a plethora of birds, reptiles, and insects. Keep an eye out, too, for the huge blooms of Rafflesia, which measure a yard across. The park is crossed by numerous trails and makes for fine trekking. Facilities and accommodation are first class.