Rock formations

Siamese tulip fields

Pa Hin Ngam is a National Park in the province Chaiyaphum in Thailand. The name Hin Ngam means Beautiful stone.

Long popular by the locals, in 1985 the Tep Satit Forestry Department first surveyed the area and recommended to protect it. In October 1986 the Pa Hin Ngam Park was created, covering 10 km² around the strange rock formations which gave the park its name. In 1993 the Forestry Department of Thailand conducted a more thorough survey including the sorrounding area, and recommended it to become a national park. The national park covering 112 km² was created on September 19, 1994, however it is not yet officially gazetted.

The park is located at the boundary of the Petchabun mountain range with the Khorat Plateau. The steep cliff at the 846 m high Sood Pandin viewpoint allows a great view into a valley and the Sublangka Wildlife Sanctuary. The name Sood Pandin means end of land, a very fitting name considering the steepness for the cliff. This cliff also marks the watershed between the Chao Phraya and the Mekong river.

Near the viewpoint is one of the fields of the Siamese Tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia), called Dok Kra Jiao in Thai. The dipterocarp forests bloom with the purple flowers at the beginning of the raining season in July.

The park got its name from the strange rock formations in the Hin Ngam Rock Ground, located at the western end of the park. Erosion formed several interestingly shaped rocks.

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