Road Escape: Khao Yai

Just a short drive away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok lies Khao Yai National Park - a peaceful nature reserve offering an idyllic road cycling escape.

Khao Yai is Thailand's third largest national park, made up primarily of dense forests upon an undulating landscape of hills which, when looked at from a distance, appear as one green mass rising majestically out of the Central Plains. Hence the name Khao Yai, which translates to "Big Mountain". The area is home to many waterfalls and other natural gems, though it's richest possession is the diversity of wildlife and flora living within. Bears, gibbons, elephants, hornbills, endangered species of reptiles, and many more animals call this vast landscape home. For the avid cyclist, riding the park's only road from one end to the other - with it's series of uphill drags, roller-coaster-like dips, beautiful hairpins and double-digit gradients all embraced by never ending waves of fresh jungle foliage - is as delightful as it is challenging. It is not just the interior of Khao Yai which makes for great riding, however. All around the edges of the National Park, a vast patchwork of rural roads radiating across plains offer the road cyclist a dream upcountry getaway.

With Khao Yai and its surrounding countryside as the centerpiece, SpiceRoads invites you on a fantastic 4 day cycling sojourn combining the best of rural and wild Thailand. Starting just beyond the suburbs of Bangkok, we'll cycle along flat roads traversing a landscape of farmlands, rice paddies, villages, and canals. We stay at a riverside resort along the western edge of Khao Yai which, the following day, will be our base for a scenic 135 km loop around the area. On Day 3 we head south into the province of Prachinburi inching closer towards the wilds of Khao Yai. We overnight at a lovely hotel surrounded by nature less than a kilometer from the entrance to the National Park and on Day 4 we take up the challenge of conquering the "Big Mountain"! From the entry gate to the top, we will gain over 1,000 m while covering nearly 40 km. We roll down on the other side where our adventure concludes with a gentle ride in the agricultural district of Pak Chong which sits at the northern edge of Khao Yai. Celebrate the achievement with a well-deserved glass of locally produced wine - Khao has Thailand's most premier selection of New World wines.