Cheow Lan Lake is a reservoir inside Khao Sok National Park, and the only way onto it is by boat.
It is also called Khao Sok Lake, and spelled Chiew Larn or Cheow Larn. The lake formed behind the Ratchaprapha Dam, which was inaugurated on 30 September 1987. Wooden longtails leave from Ratchaprapha Pier, on the Cheowlan side, about 45 minutes from Khao Sok town. The national park fee is paid there in cash: 340 THB per adult, 170 THB per child.
We take guests out two ways: a full day, every day, for 3,800 THB, or two hours at sunrise on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for 2,500 THB.
All five, with real dates and prices
Per person, minimum two guests. Hotel pick-up both ways, a local guide, meals as listed, drinking water and insurance are included. The national park fee — 340 THB per adult, 170 THB per child — is cash at the gate, and it is the only thing we cannot collect for you. How the fee works.
- The Cheowlan Everyone Dreams Of A full day on the lake · every day · 09:30 3,800 THBper person Check dates
- The Khao Sok Way Elephants and a mountain kitchen · Sun, Wed, Sat · 12:00 7,900 THBper person Check dates
- The Khao Sok Adventure Worth Taking Jungle trek, waterfall and river tubing · Tue, Fri · 09:30 5,900 THBper person Check dates
- Life Around Cheowlan Village afternoon, bamboo raft and sunset · Mon, Thu · 12:00 5,900 THBper person Check dates
- Before the World Wakes Sunrise boat · Fri, Sat, Sun · 06:30 · Cheowlan pick-up or pier 06:20 2,500 THBper person Check dates
Prices are per person and our minimum is two guests. Pick your month with the › arrow, choose a date, and the total for your group shows before you pay.
Ask us on WhatsApp Travelling alone, want a date that is not showing, or not sure which day suits you? We would rather answer the question than have you guess.
What you see on the water
Limestone rising sheer out of green water, seen from a boat small enough to get close. A day on the lake has four stops.
Khao Sam Kloe (เขาสามเกลอ), the Three Brothers. Three limestone peaks standing together so neatly they look placed there on purpose. You reach them about half an hour after leaving the pier.
A cave. The air turns cold at the first step. Wait for your eyes to adjust and the walls begin to glint, as if diamonds had been scattered across the rock.
The forest inside the lake. The boat pulls in where a waterfall marks the way in. Behind it are water sources and trunks so broad that everyone stops talking to look up.
Lunch on a floating raft house. Afterwards you can lower yourself into the lake for a swim, paddle off in one of the kayaks, or stay on the deck. Life jackets are on board for anyone getting in.
Weather and the water level can change the order of the stops. None of them is dropped.
A full day or two hours at first light
Same water, same pier. Both are shared departures: two guests minimum per booking, 15 at most on a boat, and the child rate for ages 5–11.
The full day: The Cheowlan Everyone Dreams Of
Every day, 09:30 to 16:00, with pick-up from around 08:00 on either side. All four stops, with lunch, a swim and kayaks at the raft house. 3,800 THB per adult, plus the 340 THB park fee.
Two hours at sunrise: Before the World Wakes
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 06:30 to 08:30. Mist on the limestone, the Three Brothers as the light comes up, then a raft house where you feed the fish. Pick-up on the Cheowlan side, or meet us at the pier at 06:20. 2,500 THB per adult, plus the park fee.
Pick one: they cover the same stretch of lake a few hours apart. To see it from above instead, Life Around Cheowlan ends at a hilltop viewpoint over the dam and the village at sunset, on Mondays and Thursdays.
Getting to the pier
Boats leave from Ratchaprapha Pier, beside the dam. Cheowlan, the village by the dam, is ten minutes from the pier; Khao Sok town is about 45 minutes away by road.
The full day includes hotel pick-up and drop-off from either side, so you never have to find the pier yourself. The sunrise boat collects from around six on the Cheowlan side; staying anywhere else, you meet it at Ratchaprapha Pier at 06:20.
Carry Thai baht for the park fee; the Khao Sok entrance fee page explains how it works. For routes in from Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and the islands, see how to get to Khao Sok.
Is Cheow Lan Lake worth it?
Yes, if you want limestone rising out of green water and a forest you can only reach across the lake. Three things to know first.
Lunch is basic. Every ingredient comes over by boat to a floating kitchen, so expect plain food, not a restaurant meal.
It is a long day. Pick-up is around eight and you are back at your hotel by early evening. The sunrise boat is the two-hour alternative.
Rain does not stop it. We go out regardless, and tell you ahead of time if the route changes.
Before it was a lake
In 1982 this was still a valley, with the Klong Saeng river along the bottom and the village of Ban Chiew Lan beside it. When the dam closed, 385 families moved to higher ground and the hilltops became the limestone “islands” you see from the boat. The history of Cheow Lan Lake tells the rest.
Spellings you will see
Maps, signs and booking pages spell it several ways. These all point to the same places.
| You will see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cheow Lan Lake | The lake. The spelling we use. |
| Chiew Larn, Cheow Larn | The same lake, spelled from the same Thai name. |
| Khao Sok Lake | The same lake again, named after the national park it sits in. |
| Ratchaprapha Dam, Rajjaprabha Dam | The dam that made the lake, and the name of the pier. Rajjaprabha, “light of the kingdom”, is the name King Bhumibol gave it in 1987. |
| Khao Sam Kloe | เขาสามเกลอ, the Three Brothers: the three limestone peaks on the lake. |
| Cheowlan | The side of the lake by the dam: the village the dam created, and the pier. |
Questions people ask about Cheow Lan Lake
Where is Cheow Lan Lake?
Inside Khao Sok National Park, in Surat Thani. The boats leave from Ratchaprapha Pier, on the Cheowlan side beside the dam, about 45 minutes by road from Khao Sok town. The lake itself is reached only by boat, and the park fee is paid in cash before you board.
How much does it cost to visit Cheow Lan Lake?
The national park fee is 340 THB per adult and 170 THB per child, cash only. On top of that, our full day on the lake is 3,800 THB per adult, so 4,140 THB in total, and the sunrise boat is 2,500 THB plus the same fee. Both include hotel pick-up, the boat, an English-speaking local guide and insurance.
Can you swim in Cheow Lan Lake?
Yes. On the full-day trip the swim comes after lunch, straight off the floating raft house into the lake. Life jackets are on board for anyone who wants one, and kayaks are included in the price. Bring swimwear and a towel, and a dry bag if you have one.
Can I see Cheow Lan Lake in half a day?
Yes, at sunrise. Before the World Wakes is two hours on the water, 06:30 to 08:30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday: the Three Brothers at first light, then a raft house where you feed the fish. Pick-up is from Cheowlan-side hotels; from anywhere else, meet the boat at Ratchaprapha Pier at 06:20. The cave and the forest inside the lake are on the full day.