Visit Phu Ruea National Park (Loei)

Located about sixty kilometers from Loei city, the Phu Ruea National Park is probably the best known in the province even if my favorite one is the Phu Kradueng National park (but you have to climb the mount by trekking and need to be in good shape because it is quite physical and long !). The park includes one of the region's most important peaks, Phu Ruea Mount, which is over 1300 meters high. It is also surmounted by a plateau covered with a pine forest. The most beautiful thing you can see there is the sunrise at the top of the mountian. If you are lucky, it will be one of the most spectacular sunrises in Thailand, with a sea of ??mist covering the plain and gradually dissipating. It is during the rainy season that the morning mist is the most regularly present but it can be observed all year round depending on whether the weather is favorable or not. I didn't really have a sea of ??mist when I went up there. It was in December. But it still was superb and well worth getting up at 5am. Of course it's beautiful also when the sun is already up but if you can do both it's even better. Personally, I rented a bungalow at the park's Visitor Center for my whole family (there are also tents) and headed to the summit the next morning before dawn. There is a parking lot at the top, from there, either you take the small nature trail to reach the viewpoint but be equipped with a lamp, or you can take one of the pickups which bring visitors on the last mile. The choice is yours, but I advise you to at least take the nature trail on your way back and make a detour via Lon Noi Cliff, whose point of view is perhaps even better than the one on the summit.

Otherwise in the heart of the park there are several other interesting viewpoints, waterfalls, rock formations, the most interesting are: Pha Lon Noi - Pha Sapthong or Pha Kulap - Namtok Huai Phai - Yot Phu Ruea, Tham Hin Taek, Hin Khang Mo, Hin Wua Non, Hin Phan Khanmak, Hin Phra Siwa, Suan Hin Tao, Thung Hin Lek Fai.