Cheow Lan Lake

Cheow Lan Lake
Cheow Lan Lake
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Surat Thani Province, Thailand
Nearest city	Surat Thani
Coordinates	8°56′12″N 98°31′49″E / 8.93667°N 98.53028°E
Area	165²km
Established	1982

The Cheow Lan Lake is located in the Surat Thani District in the Khao Sok National Park. It is an 165²m artificial lake, created 1982 by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand EGAT as a source of electricity.

Ratchaprabha Dam

Ratchaprabha Dam, meaning the light of the Kingdom, got his name in May 1987 from His majesty the king at the opening day and the kings 60s birthday, before that day it was called Cheow Lan Project. It was a so-called multi-purpose project for power generation, flood control, irrigation and fishery.In 1982 EGATstarted to create the Ratchaprabha Dam and blocking the Klong Saeng river. It took about one year until they completely flooded the 165²m. To flood this large area, 385 families of the Ban Chiew Lan village have been resettled. Rubber and other farming opportunities such as poultry, fruit orchards, vegetable farming and reservoir fishery where introduced together with the needed training programs and credit facilities to sustain the farmers steady income.

Each family received 19 rai (7.2 acres) of rubber plantation as well as one rai (0.39 acres) for their private homes. As part of the compensation the resettled people received 1000 baht of monthly income per family. Furthermore the resettlement created a need for the creation of basic public infrastructure, water supply systems, public buildings such as schools, police station, medical center and community hall which where build by the Thai government.

Also a resettlement of animals took place by boat and helicopter to prevent them from drowning or starving in new created islands. Unfortunately many fish species died due to the stagnant water conditions these who survived adapted exponential to the new environment.

Tourism on the Lake

"Nowhere in the Kingdom of Thailand can one find a more spectacular setting for karst topography than the flooded reservoir of Cheow Lan."^[1] (The Cheow Lan Lake provides extensive tourism potential.) Apart from the fascinating limestone cliffs and evergreen rain forest jungle, . the National Park area is inhabited by a large range of mammals such as tigers, elephants, tapirs and many monkey species. Birds such as Hornbills, Banded Pittas and Great Argus are as well forest residents. Not to forget the less commonly seen reptiles King Cobra, Reticulated Python or Flying Lizard. The reservoir area includes the Khlong Saeng, Khlong Nakha and Kaeng Krung wildlife sanctuaries where rare animals can be found. West of Khao Sok National Park lies Sri Phang Nga National Park which extends the area of preservation to up to 4,000 square kilometers.

This lures an increasing number of tourists to the Khao Sok Lake/Cheow Lan Lake. Since the late 80's tourists have begun to discover this beautiful place in Southern Thailand. It hcontinues to become a more well-known, and ever more popular destination for foreigners and locals alike. Activities around the lake include trekking to view points or waterfalls, cave explorations, kayaking, scenic boat tours,animal watching and fishing.

The village Khao Sok is located in the entrance of the National Park (about 60 kilmoeters west of the dam) and continues to build more resorts to increase it's capacity to visit this jungle region. The access to the lake at Ratchaprabha dam is further south-east in the Ban Ta Khun distict, reachable on highway 401 approximately half way between Khso Sok and Surat Thani. The dam is the only place from where the lake is accessible by boat. Around the reservoir 17 different "Floating Bungalows" accommodate tourist form all over the world. Each located in their own sort of bay, the bungalows float on rafts docked to land. Only descendants of original inhabitants of Cheow Lan village and officials of the national park are allowed licenses to own and operate these bungalows.

List of current accommodations on the lake:

Ton Toey
Klong Ka
Krai Son
Chiew Lan
Nang Prai
Klong Saeng
Tam Gia
Putowan
Prai Wan
Tree Tops
Plern Prai
Kirri Warin
Smileys Bungalows
Elephant Hills (Rainforest Camp)
500 Rai
Khao Sok Paradise Resort

References

^ "Reefs to Rainforests-Mangroves to Mountains", Tom Henley,Dawn of Happiness Resort Co., 2001

[1] "Reefs to Rainforests-Mangroves to Mountains", Tom Henley,Dawn of Happiness Resort Co., 2001

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