National parks in Thailand are defined as an area of least ten square kilometres that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance. Currently there are 102 national parks (including 21 marine national parks).

- The first national park was Khao Yai in 1961 and together with other parks in the Dong Phaya Yen mountains is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage. It lies largely in Nakhon Ratchasima Province (Khorat), but also includes parts of Saraburi, Prachinburi and Nakhon Nayok provinces.
The park is the second largest in Thailand. It covers an area of 2,168 square kilometers, including evergreen forests and grasslands. Its altitude mostly ranges from 400 to 1000 m above sea level. There are 3,000 species of plants, 320 species of birds and 67 species of mammals, including elephants, tigers, gibbons, deer and wild pigs. Its waterfalls include the 80 metre Haew Narok.
As with all national parks in Thailand, the fee is 200 baht for foreigners, and 20 for Thais. Food is available from private concessions within the park. As well, night-time “wildlife spotlighting” is available via pick-up trucks in the early evening. Animals sighted usually are limited to deer and civet cats, and only rarely include elephants.

- The first marine park was Khao Sam Roi Yot, established in 1966. Located in the Sam Roi Yot district, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province it covers 98.08 km², of which 20.88 km² are marine areas. The name Khao Sam Roi Yot means “Mountains with 300 peaks”, which describes the landscape of the park quite well.
The limestone hills rise directly at the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, with the highest elevation Khao Krachom 605 m above sea level. Between the hills are freshwater marshes. However several of these marshes were converted into shrimp farms, as only 36 km² of the total 69 km² of marshes are part of the national park. 18 km² of these marshes are scheduled to be declared a Ramsar site.
Two beaches are included in the park, Hat Laem Sala and the larger Hat Sam Phraya, near the park headquarter at Ban Khao Daeng.
Rare animals in the park include the Mainland Serow (Nemorhaedus sumatraensis), Dusky Langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus), as well as many bird species. In the ocean occasionally Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) show up.

33 national parks and 3 marine parks are in the process of creation, and are scheduled to be officially gazetted in the future.

For more information you can visit the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

[Photos: Harbour of the village Bang Pu and the Phraya Nakhon cave in Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park. By: Ahoerstemeier. CC Some rights reserved. Text partly derived from Wikipedia. This post is released under the GFDL license]