Southern Isaan comprises three provinces, namely Yasothon, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani, and this area is widely held to be the richest in the region with regard to nature. Apart from being the area where three major rivers meet – the Mekong, Chi and Moon Rivers – it is also an area that contains several national parks, including Pha Taem, Kaeng Tana, Phu Jong Na Yoi, and Phu Sa Dok Bua. In particular in the rainy season, apart from all the other wonders of nature, the whole place is a verdant green, and this is a period of time for discovering unusual tourist spots that have their own particular attraction, and other natural phenomena that are of interest and worth studying. In fact there are six ‘bases’ awaiting tourists – those who love nature and are looking at tourism from a different perspective – with natural phenomena that are so interesting, and occurring at tourist spots and along popular tourist routes that are convenient, without ever being of any danger to you the tourist. Most important of all is that you can follow a prepared tourist route and visit a large number of very interesting tourist areas very conveniently.
We would like to welcome you to the tourist spots supplied by nature in Isaan, and most especially the naturally occurring phenomena that are extremely magnificent and that can only be experienced during the rainy season.

The best time for viewing the splendours of the waterfalls is from August to October, and at the end of the rainy season/beginning of the cool season. In the areas leading up to the waterfalls, there is an abundance of flowers.
You can obtain further information from Pha Taem National Park, Amphur Kong Chiem, Ubon Ratchathani province, telephone: 0-4524-9780, 0-4526-4332-3; Na Po Klang Sub-District Administration Office, Amphur Kong Chiem, telephone: 0-4538-1063, 08-1321-2852, or Huai Pai Sub-District Administration Office, telephone:  0-4535-1287

This waterfall flows down over a cliff edge beside the Moon River closely following the roots of trees, and looks like a bamboo curtain reaching down from the cliff top to the ground below and forming a mist of water – beautiful as well as amazing to look at.

Raak Sai Waterfall is one of many tourist spots on a nature study trail that is just 500 metres long on the banks of the Moon River in Kaeng Tana National Park. Besides marvelling at the natural water curtain, you can also see many kinds of natural vegetation including all types of mosses, lichens and ferns. You will also see traces of civilisation from the 12th Century B.E. near a cave at the end of the trail. It is a short trail along which you can trek and take in the many, many natural surroundings.

example That Thon Waterfall, the Chong Mek Thai-Laos border post, and the two-coloured river.

December to May is a period of time when you will see the beauty of Kaeng Tana. Nearby there is a horse conservation centre at Ban Nong Chat, Amphur Sirindhorn, which is operated by Ajarn Suchart Wanbreedee. Telephone: 08-1955-8369, 0-4524-3833. For further information, please contact Kaeng Tana National Park on 0-4540-6888 email : reserve@dnp.go.th

    - At the end of the rainy season/beginning of the cool season, there are fields of flowers of many varieties in the area.
Further information can be obtained from Phu Jong Na Yoi National Park, Amphur Na Cha Luai. Telephone: 0-4551-1515-6

Pha Mor E-Daeng is a 500-metre-tall cliff which is part of the border between Thailand and Cambodia. It is also the entrance to Khao Phra Wiharn Castle. This cliff, in addition to being an ideal spot to get a view of the Khmer lowlands and the place where there are 100 of the oldest stone carvings in Thailand, is yet another part of Unseen Thailand. In the rainy season, a sea of clouds appears after air that continually blows in from the Khmer lowlands hits the cliffs. This spectacle attracts the attention of many who go to see Pha Mor E-Daeng in the rainy season giving them the opportunity to shower in the clouds most impressively.

Khao Phra Wiharn National Park is situated in Amphur Kantaralak, Sri Sa Ket province. It is only about 98 kilometres from the cities of Sri Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani.

    - The period of time when the clouds are most beautiful is between July and October.
   - At the end of the rainy season/beginning of the cool season, there are fields of flowers of many varieties in the area.
  Khao Phra Wiharn orchids flower in May and June. The blooms are very large.
Further information can be obtained from Khao Phra Wiharn National Park. Telephone: 0-4561 9214 , 0-1528–3268

The phenomenon ‘Parade of the Prawns’ occurs at Kaeng Lam Duan in an area belonging to Ubon Ratchathani Animal Conservation Station, Amphur Nam Yeun. The parade occurs in the middle of the night after heavy rain, or when the current in the water of Kaeng Lam Duan is strong. It is counted as being an amazing wonder of nature that is certainly worth studying.

Kaeng Lam Duan is situated 16 kilometres from Nam Yeun town centre, and about 160 kilometres from the centre of Ubon Ratchathani city. It is convenient to visit this tourist spot on the same route as Huai Luang Waterfall.

When mentioning Ubon Ratchathani province, many people would picture the magnificent Candle Festival, or the area of Siam that the sun kisses first every day. In reality, Ubon Ratchathani, the only place that uses the name Ratchathani in Siam (‘Ratchathani’ means ‘capital city’) and is well-known as ‘The City of the Beautiful Lotus Blossom, the Two-coloured River, and Delicious Fish’, has many other things of interest as well. Whether it is the beauty of nature, the unique customs and traditions, or the many races that live here, the most important thing of all is that Ubon Ratchathani is the centre for the dissemination of Buddhism in this country, particularly with respect to moral principles and meditation. As a result, the upcoming festival that marks the end of Buddhist Lent is an activity that the Thailand Tourist Information Office, Ubon Ratchathani branch, is ready to recommend along with experiencing the Fire Serpent phenomenon at Pha Taem so that all of our visitors will receive the maximum merit and happiness at the same time.

You can see the fire serpent phenomenon in which fireballs shoot up from the river in three places in the Mekong River at Kong Chiem: at Ban Gum (2 fireballs), Ban Tha Loang (22 fireballs), and Ban Ta Mui (24 fireballs). The phenomenon was first seen at the end of Buddhist Lent in 2548 B.E. and the story quickly spread as a rumour in the area. The following year, Huai Pai Sub-district Administration Organisation proved the existence of the phenomenon by having around ten thousand tourists from all parts come to witness it and the supernatural phenomenon was experienced in 2549 B.E. and in 2550 B.E. This year, the end of Buddhist Lent falls on 14th October, and Huai Pai Sub-district Administration Organisation, together with various other agencies, has arranged the event as a more formal tourist attraction in order to prevent problems with car parking at the sites and accommodation for those who come to witness the events. This will make it more convenient for tourists and, due to the large number of tourists that come (around 10,000), there is a need for increased safety precautions too. So, volunteers and officials from various agencies including the police have been drafted in to help tourists during the time that they come to see the phenomenon.

 When it reached its peak, it fell back into the river but the fireball disappeared into the darkness of the air. Therefore, we can say that the phenomenon that occurred was not man-made because the fireball shot up into the air in the same way that fireballs shoot up from the Mekong River in Nong Khai. We in Ubon Ratchathani province are not competing with the display in Nong Khai, but it is an alternative for those who have already seen the phenomenon in Nong Khai and would like to experience it again. You can see the phenomenon at Amphur Kong Chiem. This includes people who live near Ubon Ratchathani province who can come to witness the experience during the evening and then travel home afterwards. This year, the district has put up signs directing you to the sites as well as arranging car parking facilities for at least 2,000 people.

Mr. Peter Gadd : Translator