Barking up a tree

Ahh, another spelling mischief. Sap Chomphu, Sub Chom Phu, Subchom Poo, pronounciation same-same, just too difficult to spell ...

Anyway, another Phetchabun province waterfall. Not located in a national park, administratively it is seen as an arboretum with waterfall. Or a National Forest Reserve. Barely 30 ha in size.

Getting here is not too difficult, located 8 km south of Nong Phai on highway 21, the access road is from the village market, due west. Just slow down in the village and take the only road west, once on this road there are signs virtually every km, for the 8-9 km it takes to get here.

The road gradually rises as it dissects mango orchards. Late April, the farmers are up early and the road is used as collection unit for the plastic containers full of mangoes, waiting for transport to Bangkok undoubtedly. Despite all the signs along the way, the last one directing you to take a right before the steep incline is non-existent. On this cross road though is a wooden sign which describes this as Sap Chom Phu Arboretum.

Past a few houses one enters along a now empty pond. Behind this are lined a serious amount of stalls and an expansive parking area. No entrance fee is required and one wanders across the bridge. Not many foreigners get this far. This I conclude as the number 1 tell-tale sign, a pack of dogs is barking at the exotic creature (must be a ghost), is all too clear. From beyond the bridge there are a number of trails heading up and I just take one.

Within 2 minutes I am walking alongside a small stream (Sai Ngam Ngam) under huge trees, the trees alone are worth a visit. Some larger examples have been singled out for the yellow ribbon worship.

However the stream itself is a trickle and despite walking as far as possible, the waterfall is only a number of short steps. Possibly these are part of the three waterfalls mentioned as per Bangkok Post.

Waiting for the rain(s)

It's evident that later on, in the rainy season, there are much bigger falls to be experienced, see the picture of a full size poster at the entrance of the falls (below); despite an overnite downpour there's little to be seen, let alone experienced.

My photo's posted here are quite similar to those of the Bangkok Post referenced above, in the absence of the big waterfall.

What it should look like

In all it seems a little depressing as extensive amounts of trash take the shine off the naturalness of the surroundings. Better management might be an idea ...

More photo's from this provincial blog.

By Bhuddha

Intro
Signs say it's Wang Kan Lueng, others prefer Wang Kan Lueang whereas Wang Kan Luang seems to result in the most finds.

Probably Lopburi (Thailand) province's only waterfall, it will come to a surprise to many that there is even a waterfall in this mainly flat province. Better known for it's sunflower fields, the surrounding rolling hills are packed with to be planted cassava and/or to be harvested sugarcane; there's little to suggest in the geology nor in the landscape that hidden between the fields are a beautiful series of cascades.

Accessed from road 2089, Muak Lek - Chai Badan, entry is about 7 km north of the intersection with 2256 and the town of Tha Luang. The entry road heads west towards the floodplains formed by the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam. Only a km in length and extending on both sides of the stream, one soon arrives at the entrance proper: a car park with an impressive amount of food and knick-knack stalls.

Bhuddha
Effort has been made to keep the surroundings attractive, despite the lack of official protection by forest or national park administration; more often than not the way waterfalls are protected in Thailand.
Part of these efforts are directed by the erecting of a number of Buddha statues, Pae and Guy have a small blog entry solely on these statues.

All lined up

Exploitation
Officially described as an arboretum, there's not much to suggest that this is really the case. Just above the falls, a bridge extends to the other side which also has a large car park with vending stalls. Walk down stream past the main part of the falls and there is yet again a large bridge so one can make a circular route around the falls.

Gazing down

The main part of the falls are a rocky drop of about 5m. It's obvious that the underlying rock contains large amounts of calcium and the water changes colour to white/grey.

Above the falls are a number of vendors renting out picnic mats and inner tubes and judging by the height of the stacks, on certain days there must be heaps of visitors, Bangkok only 2,5 hours away. Above the falls are also some ponds to splash around in.

Betting on tubing

Below the falls, waters continue to drop creating small pools as the stream jumps in half meter / meter intervals. This section of the falls is impeccably clean and well-managed.

Further away
Downstream of the fall proper, extends a nature walk, hugging the north side of the stream. In places the stream becomes stagnant, but beyond the nearest stagnant section the stream continues it's jumping pattern. On a Monday morning there are some families near the main section of the falls, but at this time further downstream it's totally deserted. More worrying though is that refuse management does not extend this far and there is quite a bit of wind blown rubbish to be observed. The natural habitat evaporates and up to the edge of the stream are teak plantations. However each stream fall is followed by a waterhole, just the place for a secluded dip.

Web
Internet gives some other experiences, though most are positive. Paul Garrigan, a Lopburi located blogger, is quite surprised his province heralds a waterfall and despite his possible misgivings is quite impressed:

'When I caught my first glimpse of Wang Kan Lueang I was impressed straight away. I am no stranger to waterfalls in Thailand; for five years I lived in a village that is situated around a stunning ten level waterfall. Once we descended down some steps to Wang Kan Lueang it turned out to be a lot more crowded than I was expecting; I automatically regretted not bringing my swimming trunks because the water looked great and there were quite a few people already having fun'.

Melissa Swenson has a few pics from an equally good time. On flickr there are parts of sets by Joel Oh and lucaskt.