The hot season has begun. First of all, I want to tell you that I'm not going to invite my friends to go hiking or trekking anywhere like other reviews. This time, I'm going to review a place for friends who love nature tourism and admire the variety of flowers amidst the art created by nature, without any artificiality. During February-April, many of you might think of the thousand-year-old roses that bloom on the mountain tops. So, this time I had the opportunity to follow my friends who often travel together to the wildlife sanctuary area, which is known as the beautiful gem of the northeastern forest. It's none other than "Phu Luang", a wildlife sanctuary located in Loei Province. Just like other famous mountains, when you mention them, everyone knows them, such as "Phu Kradueng", which everyone wants to conquer, or "Phu Ruea", where everyone goes to take pictures with the coldest thermometer in Thailand. Compared to these two mountains, Phu Luang might not be as famous because it doesn't have spectacular sea mist views or challenging trails. But what Phu Luang has that the other two mountains don't is the "amazing variety of plants" that are hard to find on any other mountain, from white roses and red roses to various orchids that compete to bloom and show off their beauty to tourists who choose to come and admire them. Even for someone like me who is indifferent to flowers and plants, I fell in love with this place so much that I'm sure I'll come back here again. Enough introduction, it's time to pack our bags and follow us to see the beauty!

B A C K P A C K T I M E
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When your heart is ready to pack
The journey begins

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"Phu Luang" means a large mountain or the mountain of the king. Just hearing the name makes you feel the greatness of this mountain. If you want to come to Phu Luang, you must first contact the wildlife sanctuary in advance at this number.

"0-4280-1955 or 085-272-5946"

This isn't a place you can just show up to whenever you feel like it. Since it's a wildlife sanctuary, there are a few extra rules and regulations in place to help preserve the natural environment and ensure the animals can coexist with us for years to come. Don't worry, it's not too complicated. As for the cost of this trip, I'll give you a rough estimate, as the final price depends largely on your choices and how much you want to splurge. I didn't exactly go on a shoestring budget, stopping here and there as I pleased.

1. The round-trip fuel cost is high, so the divisor is high. Roughly, it's 600 baht per person.

2. Accommodation fee: 1200 baht for tent, and the price for a house is up to you.

3. Breakfast: Rice porridge and coffee, 100 baht per person.

4. Lunch box cost 80 baht per person

5. Dinner cost 200 baht per person.

6. Drinks, snacks, and miscellaneous expenses are around 200 baht per person.

Note: All food is buffet style and you can refill as much as you want. The staff here are very friendly and do many jobs. They are the receptionists, they serve food, they give advice, and they even show you the way around.

Total trip expenses (estimated) 3 days 2 nights, spending around 2000 baht per person!!!

Traveling to Phu Luang, there is no direct bus service. If you want to come here, it is better to drive yourself or find a car to rent. I don't know how much it will cost, but the roads here are good. They are paved, so you don't need a 4x4 to get up here. However, please drive slowly. This is the habitat of elephants, and you will see fresh elephant dung scattered along the road. If you are not careful and encounter an elephant, it will be your own fault!

This time, I went up around 4 pm. I still saw a wild boar, a dark black one, standing and eating at the salt lick. But I couldn't take a picture in time because the car drove past before I could even grab my camera. It was a real shame.

There are two routes to get here from Bangkok:

1. Bangkok - Saraburi - Lom Sak - Lom Kao - Left side - Phu Ruea - Phu Luang (This route is recommended so you can visit Phu Ruea before entering Phu Luang)

2. Bangkok-Saraburi-Sikhiu-Chaiyaphum-Chum Phae-Phu Kradueng-Loei-Phu Luang

The first place we arrived at after paying the park fee was "Khok Nok Kraba Unit", the name of the forest protection unit that is open to tourists within Phu Luang National Park. This is the center of our trip, where we can eat, stay, ask for information, and contact the staff. The reason for this name is because there is a rock shaped like a Nok Kraba bird, as shown in the picture above. Some people also know it as a mosquito-swatting bird. It stands proudly along the nature study trail at Khok Nok Kraba Unit. For those who have never seen a mosquito-swatting bird, this is it. I happened to go night-watching at Chong Yen and took a picture of it while it was nesting. It was very cute.

The main nature trails at Phu Luang are:

1. The Sunken Yard is a rocky outcrop dotted with oddly shaped stones, including the Bird Rock.

2. The dinosaur footprint trail is a large loop that takes about 4 km to walk. Along the way, you can enjoy the beautiful views, watch the sunrise, and see ancient footprints.

However, even if you don't have to walk anywhere, just arriving at the Khok Nok Krabak unit, the magnificence is so overwhelming that you feel it's worth it and you don't have to walk anywhere else. Starting from here, "The Thousand-Year Rose" The officers said that during February-May, the red roses are in full bloom.

The "White Rose" section has also started to bloom, but it is expected to be in full bloom throughout the mountain around April. If you have the opportunity, please go and see it.

Next up is this one, which you'll see all along the nature trail: the **"Soaring Dendrobium"**.

This is often seen: "Beautiful Sampeng Orchid"

"Brahmin's Beard Flower" I like this flower the most. It looks graceful and pure white.

This round, I would like to focus on the flowers, as the highlight of this place is truly the flowers. However, if you ask if there are any spots to watch the sunrise or sunset, the answer is yes. The sunset can be seen at Pha Kulap Daeng Kulap Khao, which is about 200 meters from the office. It's a short walk, even for young children.

The sunrise at Pha Chang Pass requires a hike of about 1 kilometer starting around 5:30 AM. Park rangers will guide you as there is a risk of encountering wild elephants. Unfortunately, the weather during my visit was not ideal for sunrise or sunset, so I don't have any beautiful photos to share. Instead, I'll share some photos of the atmosphere of people waiting for the sunrise and the eerie view of the trees. I think they look a lot like pickled children in test tubes. It must be quite a spooky sight in the dark.

The next morning, after being disappointed by the sunrise because the sky was very cloudy, full of light fog, it wasn't beautiful, so I walked back with a little disappointment. But as soon as I reached the unit, the white-backed pheasant came out and walked past as if they were waiting to welcome me. According to the principle, I can say that it is not easy to see them like this. But it must be because the nature is still fresh, and they must have seen people often enough to know that we are not dangerous, so they come out to feed naturally and comfortably. But they don't get close to each other easily. Wild animals are still wild animals, after all. Just seeing them is a blessing to the eyes.

This morning, we chose to head to the dinosaur footprints first, with the route passing several key points, as follows:

Starting from Pha Chang Pass - Pha Somdet - Pha Telin - Dinosaur footprints, a total distance of 4 kilometers. Normally, it is necessary to contact the officials to guide the way, but it just so happened that there were many groups of tourists going, so the officials told us to walk together and there was no need for officials in every group. So we started our journey.

The first point, Pha Chang Phan, is nothing special. It is a cliff for watching the sunrise only. The name Pha Chang Phan comes from the fact that along the way to this cliff, there are traces of elephants walking, as well as piles of dung along the way, with a fresh, fragrant scent. At this point, we also found "Sroi Raya" blooming and hanging down, looking beautiful.

Along the way to Pha Samdech, "Dok Som Pae" can be seen frequently, arranged in rows like a chandelier.

The second point, Pha Samdech, is a viewpoint where you can see Pha Telin and Nong Ngu Leum, which we will see as layers like steps protruding out against the sky, looking beautiful. This time, even though the sky is not beautiful, the nature still looks amazing. What made these big mountains become steps like this?

I think Pha Te Luen is the highlight of Phu Luang in terms of views. There are many beautiful angles for taking pictures. It is said that during the month of April, white roses will bloom around Pha Te Luen, which will probably make it even more beautiful. On the way back, I saw another group walking towards me, they were small. I thought to myself, we've come a long way too.

And the last point, the dinosaur footprints, there are actually many footprints, but the clearest one is this one. It is said to be a footprint from 100-140 million years ago of a carnivorous dinosaur of the carnosaur group.

I happened to meet the owner of the footprints, so I took a picture of them.

"It's my own footprint!!!"

"Really?"

The dinosaur footprint is the last point of this nature study trail. There are two options to return: walk through the forest for about 1 kilometer and then take a staff car back, or walk back the same way for 4 kilometers. I happened to want to exercise and didn't want to wait for the other groups, so I decided to walk back the same way. It's good to enjoy the view again, and it's not any less beautiful. The total walking time is about 3 and a half hours.

In the afternoon, we continued our journey to the small loop trail at Lan Suriya. For those who have never walked this trail before, it is advisable to contact an official guide, as there have been cases of people getting lost. This is because there are several paths that branch off from the main trail, and it can be easy to lose your way. However, since the person I was with had walked this trail before and was familiar with the route, we were able to walk it on our own. However, it is important to emphasize that if you are not confident, it is best to contact an official guide.

The entrance is already beautiful, with the old red roses blooming everywhere.

The station signs indicate the key points of each location, with explanatory signs along the way.

Let's continue our flower collection with "Siamese Lion"

I'm not sure if this is "Euanthe sanderiana" or "Bulbophyllum nutans". Could someone who knows please tell me? If I'm wrong, please let me know. I'm just learning from books and the internet, I'm not an expert.

"Kok Mong or Samek"

"Naree Intanon's shoes" are another highlight here, but unfortunately, I didn't get to see the dragonfly wing lady's slipper.

A top-down view of the Suriyan Plaza. You can sit and relax here, saving your energy for the walk back. I didn't edit the color of the leaves in this picture, the trees changed color on their own. It's as beautiful as in this picture. If you don't believe me, you have to try it during the hot season.

The rest are other unnamed flowers, and the beauty along the way that I have collected for you.

After completing a full circle around the solar field, we set off for a relaxing camping trip at Nam Nao National Park and returned to Bangkok the following afternoon.

Finally, I would like to leave a message to my friends who want to visit Phu Luang. This is a wildlife sanctuary, so there may be more rules and regulations than usual. However, I would like everyone to listen and follow them. The reason why this place is so beautiful until today is because of these rules and regulations. The warning signs that tell us not to climb the rocks or go off the path may seem annoying, but they prevent us from accidentally stepping on the beautiful small plants. They give them a chance to grow and bloom for us to see every day, and they leave them for others to see after us forever.

Thank you for following me to this point. If I find any more beautiful and interesting natural attractions, I will share them with you as always. See you on the next trip. "When the heart carries a backpack, the journey begins."