Cheow Lan Village Afternoon: Bamboo Raft, Turtle Forest & Sunset

When the Ratchaprapha Dam filled in the 1980s, 385 families were moved out of the valley and given land on higher ground to rebuild on. They became the lake's boat drivers, its guides, its resort owners. This afternoon is spent in that village - not observing it, but eating in it, floating through it, and walking into the forest behind it. Lunch comes first: southern Thai dishes laid out on banana leaves at a long table beside the river. Then the water - not the famous lake, but the small green channels behind the houses, poled along on a bamboo raft at the only speed that lets you see any of it. Behind the village is a forest the villagers call Turtle: trees whose size stops the conversation, the herbs the village still collects for medicine and cooking, and a cave that stays cool however hot the day is. A short drive up, and the whole story is in front of you at once: the dam, the village the dam created, and the sun going down over both. Back at the hotel by 18:30. Max 15 guests.

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   Cheow Lan Dam

   5 hours

   The afternoon is spent in the village beside the Ratchaprapha (Cheow Lan) Dam: lunch on banana leaves at a long table beside the river, a bamboo raft poled along the small green channels behind the houses, a walk into the forest the villagers call Turtle with its giant trees, herbs and cool cave, and finally a hilltop viewpoint where the sun goes down over the dam and the village it created.

• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Easy-going: the forest walk is a walk, not a trek, and the bamboo raft is poled slowly along shallow village channels, with life jackets available. Non-swimmers are fine
• Bring a hat, walking shoes, sunscreen, and swimwear plus a change of clothes if you want to swim in the river
• Minimum age 5. Children aged 5-11 pay the child rate; under-18s must be accompanied by an adult
• Runs Monday and Thursday, rain or shine. Hotel pickup at 12:00 from the Khao Sok side or the Cheowlan side

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.