Katchanaburi - Erawan - amongst the waterfalls

Although I saw the islands and the ruins of Ayutthaya - I still count this as one of my highlights of Thailand.

Not far from Katchanaburi, you can take a tour or catch bus 8170 to the entrance - this national park is not to be missed, especially if you have never seen the jungle before. What makes it famous and draws in the Thais are its eight waterfalls, one after the other along a 3 mile trail leading up into the jungle. The jungle itself is very exciting, trees block off the sunlight, insects buzz around and the humidity could bowl over an elephant. If you are lucky you can spot birds, lizards, butterflies and monkeys - there are still elephants and tigers in Erawan but they are very rare.

The first waterfall is by the entrance and consists of a huge boulder being washed over by the river. There are changing huts and services nearby so you can swim in the pool. When we visited there a number of Thai families swimming and feeding the fishes.

The next waterfall is more of a climb and was a wide pool surrounded by great boles of trees, with foaming water gushing from above. This was a good place to spot monkeys. From here the trail gets steeper and there are another six waterfalls to see. It can get very gruelling with the intense humidity and having to watch where you put your feet due to lose stones and roots.

The final waterfall at the end of the trail was magnificent. It consisted of six waterfalls flowing into each other joined by shallows, cascades and turquoise pools. It was here that we joined some Thai lads and swam in the pool underneath the waterfall. The relief after all that humidity was wonderful. If you visit the Erawan National park, I swear you will want to come back. In fact I swear you will not want to climb out of the pools and leave the waterfalls behind