Footloose in Pha Taem

If Pha Taem can please the Queen, it’s perfect for ordinary folks like us.

You might think you've seen it all and there's no place left in Thailand that would surprise you, let alone take your breath away. You've been to Pai and the Surin archipelago and every spot in between, and every one now has a gift shop, a visitor's centre and people lamenting how beautiful it was 20 years ago.

Last month I found my surprise, and my breath was taken away.

I pulled on a pair of boots and started pounding around Pha Taem National Park on foot.

You don't have to head off to the ends of the earth, I realised, to discover something new and awe-inspiring. There's plenty here, and it's all in a confined, easily reached space.

The park in Ubon Ratchathani province happens to be Her Majesty the Queen's favourite place. She often visits in the winter and wanders for hours among the beautiful wildflowers, one of which she gave a sweet new name.

Sroi Sawan Waterfall is surrounded by these floral charmers, all of them begging you to kneel down and examine them up close like diamonds in the rough. Some of the blossoms are so small they barely peek out from the ground.

Look for Her Majesty's favourite five - Dusita, Sroi Suwanna, Manee Thewa, Thip Kesorn and Charus Chan.

Dusita - known in Isaan as yaa khao kam noi - has small, darkish purple blooms. Like a beautiful woman, it's as alluring as it is heartless, beckoning insects into its pocket and trapping them for good.

If you find Dusita, you should see Sroi Suwanna, the "golden weed", standing next to it. In Pha Taem Park, swathes of Sroi Suwan unfurl like golden carpets across the hillsides.

The name Manee Thewa roughly translates as "angel's diamond". It's white, pure and simple, unlike the heady purple of the Thip Kesorn and Charus Chan flowers.

You'll find far more wildflowers with strange names, like kra dum thong, the "golden button", and yard nam khang, meaning "morning dew".

From the easterly lookout on the edge of the cliff, you see the mighty Mekong slithering from north to south like a giant serpent, nuzzled between Thailand and Laos.

Pha Taem boasts amazing geography as well as history. The strange rock formations known as "Sao Chaliang" and the prehistoric paintings in its caves make the park quirky and enigmatic.

And everywhere, within a stone's throw, you have beautiful paths adorned with wildflowers.

If Pha Taem can please the Queen, it's perfect for ordinary folks like us.

If you go …

The best time for walking the park's floral paths is October to February.

For more information, call the park office at (045) 246 3323 or the Tourism Authority's Ubon Ratchathani bureau at (045) 243 7701 or (045) 250 714.

Check it out at Photo Gallery for many more photos