Southeast Asia is known for its warm beaches, plentiful islands, sprawling jungles, and varied wildlife. In addition to being a budget-friendly destination in a perpetual state of summer, Southeast Asia offers so much to do, and often in idyllic settings.
While there are hundreds of national parks in Southeast Asia, there are a few that stand out from the pack. Some of the following are well known in the region, some are up-and-coming, and others are relatively unknown. These are some of the best national parks to target on your next trip to the beautiful countries that make up Southeast Asia:
Thien Duong Cave (Paradise Cave) in Phong Nha Ke Bang
Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam
Located right in the middle of Vietnam and generally accessed via Hue, Phong Nha National Park is famous for its sharply rising mountains, idyllic rice paddies, and several caves to explore. One is full of mud, which is surprisingly fun to roll around in, one is accessed by boat, and has 2km worth of wooden decks running through it, meaning it’s one huge cave.
Unlike the famous caves in Halong Bay, which have been paved and covered in colorful lights, the caves in Phone Nha Ke Bang have been relatively untouched and remain more or less in their natural state.
Perfect for those who love to hop on a motorbike and explore, the park’s roads are well paved and tend to be pretty devoid of traffic. Best of all, the locals are incredibly friendly, often flashing a peace sign, waving from the back of a motorbike, or calling out a greeting from a porch, especially on the smaller roads.
Get there via Hue or overnight bus from Hanoi. Many visitors to Vietnam also choose to rent or buy a motorbike and drive in that way as well.
Komodo Dragon
Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Accessed via the island of Flores, which has an airport and major ferry terminal, Komodo National Park is a string of beaches and reefs that rival the best in the world. The rural islands in this park, along with the warm water and lack of light pollution, make for some fantastic swimming, brilliant sunsets and sunrises, Komodo dragon sightings, and unobstructed stargazing.
This park is also a SCUBA diver’s dream, known for colorful corals, varied nudibranchs (colorful sea slugs), reef sharks, and sea turtles. Komodo has also recently been named a Manta ray and shark sanctuary, which aims to preserve the marine life and spread conservation efforts and education.
If you plan to dive here, take note: the famously strong currents require the experience of advanced open water divers with a good number of dives in their logbooks.
Stilt houses, Ream National Park, Cambodia, Southeast Asia
Ream National Park, Cambodia
Easily accessed via the more touristy neighboring town of Sihanoukville, Ream National Park is a sanctuary with white sand beaches, several hiking trails, a few islands, mangroves, a waterfall, and bird lots of marine and bird life covering 210 kilometers.
Monkeys, dolphins, sea turtles, pelicans, deer, cranes and about 5,000 households within 13 villages all share the land in and around the national park. The area is a local economic resource not only for tourism but for logging and fishing. Visitors love it for its apparent untouched natural beauty.
Visit soon, though, as this area, like most of the Cambodian coast, is rapidly developing and foreign builders looking to open resorts there have bought much of the property already. Check out Ream while it’s still small and underdeveloped if you want to be the only one leaving footprints in the sand.
Dong Hua Sao Biodiversity Area, Laos
For those who love waterfalls, the Bolaven Plateau drive through southern Laos is a real treat. Still relatively off-the-beaten track, the roads are surprisingly good and might just be the best in all of Laos. Throughout the drive, one passes several national parks, but the Dong Hua Sao Biodiversity area, in particular, has some of the biggest waterfalls in Laos and Southeast Asia in general.
A 3-4 day motorbike loop out of the nearby city of Pakse, Laos’ biggest southern city, is ideal, though it can be done at a faster-paced 1-2 days as well. Several guesthouses in the area rent bikes on the cheap and accommodation along the way is a bargain at options as low as a few dollars per night.
Diving on Sipadan
Sipadan, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo
Sipadan is the surroundings of an island in Malaysian Borneo – the half of Malaysia that just might have the cleanest and least-touristed beaches in Southeast Asia. The island of Sipadan itself is uninhabited save for a small military base. Visitors are limited to a few per day and the waiting list fills up quickly. The reason for this is the amazing underwater biodiversity of Sipadan, which offers what is easily some of the best SCUBA diving in all of Southeast Asia. The area is known for giant schools of Barracuda, Bump-Head Parrotfish, thousands of sea turtles, and sometimes, schools of Hammerhead sharks!
The surrounding islands in Mabul are equally stunning, with white-sand beaches and a peek at the life of sea-dwelling minority tribes in Sipadan who live their lives between the sand and small house-boats on the water.
Mabul can be accessed via Semporna, the closest jumping off point for the islands in Sabah. Dive companies organize daily boats out to Mabul and Sipadan, though in order to visit and dive in the marine park, reservations made at least a month ahead of time are typically required as the waiting list is long.
Mu Ko Similan National Park, Thailand
A running theme of this article is marine parks famous for diving, as well as their untamed jungles and pristine beaches. Mu Ko Similan National Park is no different. Sitting on the western side of the country, several hours north of Phuket with the jumping off point of Khao Lak, the nine islands in this national park are popular for SCUBA liveaboard boats and snorkelers, or even campers who share the islands with the local Sea Gypsies.
Boats sail around the islands from November to May, before the monsoon rains bring the kind of weather that is unsafe for boats. Several of the islands are closed to the public for sea turtle conservation, leaving a gorgeous few open to tourism-related activities.
Puerto Princesa Underground River
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines
Located roughly 80 kilometers north of Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River was named a New7Wonders of Nature in 2012 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park contains a heavy amount of biodiversity, including over 800 plant species and 295 different trees in forest formations representing 8 of the 13 varieties that occur in Southeast Asia. Birders love the area too as it contains 67% of the bird life in Palawan.
The cave and the river that runs thorugh it are over 24 kilometers (or 15 miles) long, making it one of the largest caves in the world. Visitors to the park can boat through the first four kilometers of it, marveling at the stalactites and stalagmites. The river’s second floor was discovered in 2010, meaning there are waterfalls inside the cave as well.
Though there are many national parks in an area as large as Southeast Asia that are very much worth visiting, these are a few favorites of mine after two years of traveling slowly through the aforementioned countries. There are always more to discover in an area that changes as rapidly as Southeast Asia does, which makes this part of the world so fascinating to explore.
Do you know of more national parks that are worth visiting in Southeast Asia? Comment with your favorites!
Southeast Asia is known for its warm beaches, plentiful islands, sprawling jungles, and varied wildlife. In addition to being a budget-friendly destination in a perpetual state of summer, Southeast Asia offers so much to do, and often in idyllic settings.
While there are hundreds of national parks in Southeast Asia, there are a few that stand out from the pack. Some of the following are well known in the region, some are up-and-coming, and others are relatively unknown. These are some of the best national parks to target on your next trip to the beautiful countries that make up Southeast Asia:
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