Laemson National Park
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| | Laemson National Park is situated on the Andaman sea coast in Ranong and Phangnga provinces. It consists of approximately 60 km of coastline and 15 islands. The park was established on 19th August 1983 by royal decree. The park covers a total area of 315 sq.km, of this area 85% is open water. The park is the 12th Marine National Park of Thailand and is its 6th largest. |
| The coastal section stretches from Ao Ang mountain (264m) in the North to Pak Triam mountain (155m) in the South. The coastal section of the park extends inland about 2 km, but in several places stretches no further than high water mark. All the parks islands are situated nearshore, the furthest being 12 km offshore. These islands are unspoilt with no permanent habitation although they occasionally act as a refuge for fishing boats during monsoon storms. |  |
The sea around the islands and offshore is rich in marine life with many habitats present including; coral reefs, open water, seagrass beds, mangrove swamp, estuarine and beach. The park includes some very important nursery grounds for economically important species. There preservation ensuring continued supply in the Andaman sea offshore fisheries. Due to the proximity of the shore the water in the park is very often turbid with sediment thus restricting coral growth to a few locations in the park. The best coral occurs at the northern end of Mu Ko Kam island, but these reefs are very stunted compared to the corals present offshore at nearby Mu Ko Surin National Park.  | 
Laemson National Park Map
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The principle terrestrial habitat at Laemson National Park is the extensive Mangrove forests. Approximately half of the coastal area of the park is covered by mangrove forest which accounts for approximately 14 sq.km. The most extensive areas occur around Laem Kluai, around the island Ko Thao, behind the beach on the coast opposite Mu Ko Kam Nui island and at the northern end of the park around Ao Ang mountain. In some patches the mangrove forest extends across the park boundary to link with extensive areas outside the park. In these locations the forest is quite unspoilt with high species density.
The mangrove forest at Laemson is zoned depending upon its proximity to the sea. The landmark side is dominated by Ceriops tagal, C. decandra and Rhizophora apiculata. The seaward side is dominated by the pioneer species Sonneratia alby, Avicennia alba, A. officinalis, A. marina, and Phizophora apiculata.
Along the coast above high water mark and fringing the islands are areas of beach forest. The dominant tree species is the pine Cassurina equisetifolia which provides shade and ventilation, thus the ideal place the relax or picnic. Other trees found here include; Barringtonia asiatica, Terminalia catappa, Calophyllum inophyllum, Derris indica, Heritiera littoralis, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Syzygium grandis, Lepisanthes rubiginosa, Diosyros areolata, D. ferrea, Ipomoea sp., and Pandanus odoratissimus.
Inland on the larger islands; Mu Ko Kam Yai, Mu Ko Kam Nui and Ko Piak Nam Noi and on the slopes of Khao Ao Ang, Khao Bang Ben and Khao Pak Triam mountains small patches of tropical evergreen forest occur. This forest has been greatly influenced by human activity, with trees selectively felled especially for boat building. The principle tree species present include; Dipterocarpus turbinatus, D. gracilis, Shorea herryana, Hopea helferi, Parashorea stellata, Syzygium cumini, Randia siamensis, Asplenium nidus, Calamus longiserus, Salacca rumphii, Lygodium salicifolium, Catimbium malaccense and Musa acuminata.
In locations where human impact has occurred and trees have been felled patches of grassland are present. Grassland now covers nearly 50% of Mu Ko Kam Nui island. Forest regeneration is very slow here due to the extreme climate, especially water stress in the dry season.
The park bird list currently stands at 138 species, with 80 Resident, 54 winter visitors and 4 passage migrants. The optimum time to visit the park for bird watching is between December to February, with many migrating birds present and the optimum weather conditions.
Important bird species recorded in the park include; White-bellied sea-eagle
(Haliaeetus leucogaster), Changcable hawkeagle (Spizaetus cirrhatus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis
hypoleucos), Great knot (Calidris tenuirostris). Orange-breasted pigeon (Treron bicincta),
Brown-winged kingfisher (Halcyon amauroptera), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptial cyanomelana), Copper-throated sunbird (Nectarinia calcos-tetha), Paddyfield warbler (Acrocepha lus agri cola) and Mangrove whistler (Pachy-cephala grisola).
Mammals recorded in the park include; Common treeshrew (Tupia glis), Malayan flying lemur (Cynocephalus variegatus), Slow loris (Nycticebus coucang), Pig-tailed macaque
(Macaca nemestrina), Stump-tailed macaque (M. arcttoides), Crab eating macaque (M. fascicularis), Banded langur (Pres-bytis femoralis), Masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), Binturong (Arctictis binturong), Mouse deer (Tragulus spp.) Pangolin (Manis javanica). Black giant squirrel (Ratufa
bicolor) and Common wild pig (Sus scrofa). These species were recorded in a survey in 1988 and the continued presence of some of these animals is now in doubt.
Other creatures found here are sea turtle (Olive ridley: Lepidochelys olivacea) Indian monitor lizard (Vvranus nebulosus). Tokay gecko (Gecko gecko) coral reefs, sea fan, sea star and marine fishes. Laemson National Park is reached by following highway no.4 south from Ranong town on the road to Kapoe. After about 46 km a signposted road on the right leads to the park headquarters after a further 10 km.
The park has a variety of tourist sites the main ones follow;
Bang Ben Beach, this is a long and wide fine sandy beach with a fringing pine forest. The headquarters of the National Park are situated here.
Laemson Beach, this beach is situated about 4 km north along the coast from the park headquarters. This beach is very clean with beautiful white sand, this beach is a good location for watching shorebirds.
Ko Kam Yai Island, this is the most beautiful island in the park. The island has excellent white sandy beaches and is a popular tourist location. Nearshore are some good reefs suitable for snorkling. To reach the islands boats can be hired from Bang Ben beach, the joumey takes approximately 1.30 hours.
Ko Khang Khao Island, this island has good sandy beaches and coral reefs suitable for snorkling. To reach this island is about a 40 minute boat ride from Bang Ben beach.
Had Prapas, this beach is located behind Kamphuan village, near to Ko Kam Nui Island. This beach is very long and wide, and cover with a fringing pine forest.
Had Ao Khoei, this beach is just north of Khao Pak Triam, approximately 15 km north of Kuraburi town. This beach is very long and wide and is the quietest beach in the park.
 | At Laemson National Park headquarters there are 3 bungalows which can accommodate 10 people each and also a longhouse which has 4 rooms and can accommodate a total of 16 people. On Mu Ko Kam Yai is single longhouse which can cater for 16 guests. Had Prapas also provides visitor with camp site for overnight visitation.Accommodation should be booked in advance either at Headquarters Laemson National Park, Kapoe District, Ranong Province 85120 or at the Marine National Park Division, Royal Forest Department, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900 Tel (02) 5612918-21. The park has a restaurant which also sells some supplies, the nearest shops are in Kapoe town 16 km away so visitors should bring plenty of personal supplies. |
According to the National Parks Act of 1961, the following activities are permitted; swimming, sports, picnicing and camping. Tents are permitted provided you set them up yourself. Leave anything valuable at the office if you plan to be away from your site for many hours. Please heed any warnings or advice that park staff may have. Respect the local culture and religion; nude topless sunbathing is forbidden. Do not disturb other guests or wildlife. Stay on established trails, if you want a guide ask one of the rangers in the visitors centre. |
