Pak Chong is the nearest town serving Khao Yai National Park. It is less than 200 km from Bangkok, making it a very popular base for Thai weekend trippers.

Understand

Pak Chong Railway Station

Lumtakong is a lake half an hour north-east of Pak Chong town

Pak Chong (Thai: ปากช่อง) is the westernmost district (amphoe) of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand. It is a district of 193,000 people (2015) in Southern Isaan.

Get in

Long-distance trains from Bangkok to Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani stop at Pak Chong railway station, as do local trains connecting Saraburi with Nakhon Ratchasima. Trains take 3-3.5 hours to make the journey from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok.

From Nakhon Ratchasima aka Korat (new bus terminal near Saint Mary's hospital), minivans leave approximately hourly, 70 baht. These minivans run until 6pm but may wait until full before departing. The trip takes 1-2 hr.

From Trat bus terminal, daily bus 08:30, 395 baht, 7-9 hr duration. Likely to arrive by night.

Get around

Mittraphap Road is the main road that leads off route 2 and ultimately back onto it. Most of the accommodation and restaurants are on this road or the sois leading off it.

See

There are few sights in the town, which for most tourists is just a base for visiting Khao Yai National Park.

On the left-hand side when exiting the train station is a street (its name is หลังสถานีรถไฟ) with historical long double storey wooden houses. It has a few cafés, juice popups and small restaurants.

Thetsaban Tambon Pakchong Market, and the alleys behind up to the railway, are bustling with trade, small warehouses and stalls of all types. The same area has a night market too.

Eat

Restaurants along the river just outside of Pak Chong town

• Ban Mai Chai Nam. A unique restaurant, very popular with Bangkok Thais. The Central Thai food is excellent and reasonably priced, and the location next to the river is very scenic. The most remarkable aspect is the vast quantity of antiques, objects d'art and kitsch items on display, ranging from old dolls and children's toys to glass and pottery ware to bar paraphernalia, old petrol pumps and in an adjoining building, a range of old motor vehicles. It is a fascinating place. It is hard to find down a narrow soi: Nam 1 Muban Ko Kaeo, off the main road through town. Their website is in Thai only. 
• The Chocolate Factory Khao Yai, 352 หมู่ 2 Mu Si, ☏ +66 92 443 8881. 09:30-22:00. A pretty fancy place serving both Western and Thai food, though their Western food is better. Probably the best Western food in town. There's also a confectionery. Prices are reasonable. If you can, try to avoid going during holidays or weekends when there are a lot of people. The quality of the food tends to correlate directly with how crowded the restaurant is; the more crowded the restaurant, the worse the food. (updated Dec 2023)
• Prime 19 Khao Yai, 777 หมู่ 5 ศูนย์การค้ากรีนเนอรี่ปาร์คมอลล์ หมูสี, ☏ +66 44 002 246. 11:00-22:00. Good Western food. A wide variety of food and wine options. Located right in front of Scenical World waterpark. (updated Dec 2023)
• The Witches Brew Restaurant Khao Yai, Thanarad Road Moosi, ☏ +66 93 639 4695. 10:00-22:00. A nice little Western restaurant with a large garden and nice cocktails. (updated Dec 2023)

Drink

• 1 Whan Yen Station. Typical fruit juice stand, great prices and seats to watch activity in this beautiful street while waiting for your train. 

Sleep

There are several camp sites within the Khao Yai National Park.

• At Home Hostel, 27 Soi 1 Tedsabarn 16 Rd (opposite the night market down to a small alley, 100 m from minivan station and 200-600m from bus station.), ☏ +66 81 4906601, at.homehostel.pch@gmail.com. Check-in: 13:00, check-out: 11:00. The staff speak some English and have a lot of information and tips about Khao Yai National Park which they claim you can't get from national park officers. They also rent scooters. The bus stop is on the other side of the main street. You can book a full day tour to the park with them. The tour picks up in front of the hostel. 300-800 baht. (updated Sep 2016)

• 1 More than Sleep Hostel Pakchong, 440 Pak Chong District (opposite of the night market), ☏ +66 44 000 402, +66 86 465 4642, morethansleephostel@hotmail.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. shared bathrooms, separate men/women, soap, shampoo, toilets (paper, gun), Wi-Fi, small lockers (BYO padlock), large living room, bar/pool area, tours sold. dorm 300 baht, double room from 800 baht. (updated Mar 2024)

• Bobbys Apartment and Jungle Tours, 291/6 Moo 18 Mittapab Rd, ☏ +66 44 328177, bobbysapartmentandjungletours@hotmail.com. Pronounced "Bo bees". An outpost for European tourists and the occasional North American. Run by a Brit and a German and their Thai ladies. 
• 2 Greenleaf Guesthouse & Tour, 52 Moo 6 Thanarat Rd (km7.5) (Just outside Pak Chong), ☏ +66 86 2523238, info@greenleaftour.com. If staying at the guesthouse they can collect you & drop you back to the train or bus station (free) if you arrange this with them in advance. They have an on-site restaurant. Clean, basic double rooms with fan. Daily park tours. The people are lovely and the tours are great. They offer a half-day (500 baht) and a full-day (1500 baht, including the 400 baht park entry fee) tours (1800 baht if you take both). The half-day tour starts at 15:00 and stays outside the National Park, includes swimming in a beautiful natural spring, visit a cave under a Buddhist temple and watch 2 million bats flying out at sunset. The day tour takes you into the National Park where you will go looking for wildlife both in the pick-up truck and on foot during an easy 3-hr walk on jungle tracks. The guides speak English well and are very skilled at spotting even the smallest animals of which they will take nice pictures for you with your own camera through their telescope. Lunch, water, and fresh fruits as well as stops at the waterfall and at a lookout are also included in the price. You do not have to stay at their guesthouse to join the tour. 200 baht. (updated Jan 2020)
• The Mansion. An apartment block with hotel rooms on the ground floor. Pleasantly appointed, although rather spartan rooms that go for 1,000 baht a night — which would be expensive for many places, but is the going rate in Pak Chong. 
• Payboon Apartments (ask for directions to Charlize Bar; Payboon Apartments is on the right hand side of the road before you get there; the sign is only in Thai; turn right off the main road just after two nice big open air restaurants and opposite a hill side temple on the left (it is high up so you may miss this)), ☏ +66 81 875563, +66 44 316 692. The rooms are spic and span with good shower and were 350 baht for a room with a fan and 650 baht for a room with air conditioning. The family that run it are very nice and helpful. Breakfast in the garden is 50 baht per person and is coffee, tea or chocolate, bread, egg, and sausage and fruit. Or you can have rice soup. Call and they will pick you up. Ask to talk to "Katoo" as he can speak some English. 

• Rimptarn Inn. A quirky hotel on the main street in Pak Chong. The rooms are musty but have plenty of character and the bannisters are constructed of recycled teak. 1,000 baht per night.