According to local legend, the sea once extended further inland to create many small limestone islands. A Chinese trading junk is said to have sunk at some stage, its 300 survivors each taking refuge on one island (we guess they didn’t get along so well). They called the area Ko Sam Roi Yot, or “Island of Three Hundred Peaks”, which naturally became “Mountain (Khao) of Three Hundred Peaks” when the sea subsided.
Whether you think of Sam Roi Yot as one single mountain, a cluster of individual peaks or the remnants of 300 islands, there’s little room for debating its beauty. The dark-grey, white, tan and mossy stone stretches straight up in many places, with the highest point reaching above 600 metres. Deciduous trees cling to countless nooks and perches where birds of prey make their nests.
The park’s highlight—Phraya Nakhon Cave—is on a short list of the most magnificent caves in Southeast Asia, while a handful of smaller caverns await those who aren’t afraid of the dark. Quiet beaches, mangroves and a handful of small islands inhabited only by monkeys can also be explored, perhaps with the help of a kayak or longtail boat. Just west of the mountains sprawls Thung Sam Roi Yot, a majestic freshwater wetland where dozens of species of birds go fishing amid ... Travelfish members only (Full text is around 900 words.)
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