Erawan Waterfalls

Erawan Waterfalls

Updated: Feb2013

From Three Headed Elephant to Seven Tiered Waterfall
By Wendy Merrett, November 2012
Kanchanaburi is a place steeped in history. Many people visit the area to see the Bridge over the River Khwae and the death railway, which are fantastic memorials and should be seen. However this is not all that Kanchanaburi has to offer, there are some spectacular natural sites and parks to visit, one of those being the Erawan Waterfalls. Named after the three headed Hindu elephant God (apparently the top level looks like him?!) Erawan is a seven tiered waterfall and one of Thailand's most popular. So having sent a few days immersing ourselves in the history of the area we decided to get back to nature and hop on a bus to the waterfalls.

Getting to the waterfalls is easy using public transport. Buses stop along the main road, Th Saengchuto, just past the cemetery. It costs 50B one way and takes around 90 minutes. The bus journeys themselves can be just as entertaining as the sites you are going to visit.
The bus takes you right up to the entrance of the waterfalls, where you have to pay a 200B entrance fee, a standard price in Thailand for entry into any National Park. You are able to swim in the pools and as soon as you see the first one you will realise how inviting they are. However there are a number of signs up asking you to cover up when walking around - just a sarong and t-shirt over your swim suit is adequate. Unfortunately not everybody pays attention to this which can make for some less appealing views!
As we entered the park and headed towards level 1 we were immediately faced with crystal blue waters and quite stunning scenery. If you aren't up to the climb to to the top, Levels 1-3 are relatively straightforward to get to and probably some of the best pools for swimming in. Although if you do make it to the top then the cold water is much more welcoming because you have to remember this is not the nice warm waters of the sea, this is the cold fresh water of the mountains.

Once you walk on from level 3 there are signs that say you aren't allowed to take food with you. This makes sense as it stops people from feeding the monkeys. But we where then stopped by a park official who pointed at our bottles of water. At first we thought we weren't allowed to take it with us but then he showed us a printed card that explained if we wanted to take our water we had to pay a 20B deposit per bottle, we would then get this back when we came back down with our bottles. What a fantastic idea to stop people littering and leaving their rubbish in areas of beauty. Sadly so many times in Asia a stunning scene had been ruined by rubbish and thanks to this scheme I can honestly say this wasn't the case at Erawan.
As we made our way to the top we had to keep an eye on the time. The last bus back to Kanchanaburi was at 4pm so we were torn between stopping and cooling off at each level or making a way to the top. We decided to power on to the top and that way we cold pick out our top pools to stop at on the way down. We had got this far so it would be a shame to miss out on seeing the elephant God at the top.

The walk to the top isn't particularly tough, but it is quite slippery in places so do watch you step. I am not sure I would have been able to do it in flip flops! There are some parts where you need to clamber over rocks and through the water and other places where there are some quite steep wooden stairs. We watched one poor lady slip onto her backside - luckily she was not hurt. In the end I was rather proud of myself for managing to stay on my feet, not something I find that easy!
What is interesting about Erawan is that each level is quite different, some are shimmering pools, others are higher drops. Oh and don't be fooled by the lucky number 7, there are many more levels in between. I think level 5 and a half was my favourite. The water had carved into the rocks making it look like icicles.

Once at the top it was definitely time for a swim, but be careful the floor is very slippery! I am still not sure where the three headed elephant was meant to be but the waterfall was lovely and the water was refreshing. The only downside is that the pool at the top is not as big as some of the others and so can be a little crowded, but I guess we can't really blame mother nature for not making it bigger for us!

There Is just one more thing to say about Erawan - be careful of the fish! At first you think, 'great a free foot spa' and then you realise that these aren't tiny little fish like you get in the spas on the Khao San road, these are big (actually some are huge) and these guys are hungry! What starts as a tickle some becomes a nip and if you aren't careful you'll have a fish stuck to your foot! Don't let it put you off though, Erawan is a great day trip from Kanchanaburi and I highly recommend that if you are in the area you make it part of your trip.

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