Thailand’s adventure/ sports offerings are vast. From soft to intense activities, visitors can practice almost every sport. Enjoy mountainous jungle terrain by trekking on foot, riding an elephant’s back, 4-wheel drive, mountain biking and more. Travel by water by practicing whitewater rafting, sea canoeing or sailing. Or, fly across by windsurfing.

A pioneer in sustainable tourism practices, Thailand also offers visitors the opportunity for agricultural immersion. Stay with a host family and learn first hand about rice farming, fishing, or running a fruit orchard. For a more daring and exotic experience, become an elephant handler in Lampang Province, and learn how to bathe and “drive” the world’s largest living land animals.

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NATURAL ATTRACTIONS

The Andaman Sea - Most of the diving off the western flank of the isthmus is based around the southern beach resorts of Phuket, Krabi, and Ko Phi Phi. The three-dives-in-a-day outings include the triad of Shark Point, Anemone Reef, and the Ko Phi Phi National Marine Park and prove most popular. Teeming with schools of reef fish in every stripe and hue, “Shark Point” is the most often visited site in the area and was named after the leopard sharks often spotted on the sea floor.

The Similan Islands - consistently ranked as one of the world’s top 10 dive sites, this nine islands archipelago is located some 59 miles northwest of Phuket and have been a national marine park since the mid-80s. Even the names of the different dive sites conjure up mental pictures of underwater exotica, such as Elephant Rock, Stonehenge, Coral Gardens/Hobbit land, Christmas Point, and Fantasia Reef.

Ko Tao Island - is the nucleus of some of the most dazzling sites in the Gulf of Thailand. Because of the number of secluded bays and shallow reefs, more rookie divers get certified here than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. For more experienced divers, Ko Tao boasts the Chumphon Pinnacles. Often referred to as the most spectacular site in the Gulf, this collection of enormous boulders is the perfect place to spot large schools of Great Barracuda, as well as mackerel, tuna, and the world’s biggest fish , the whale shark – these gentle giants can be as big as a city bus. Visibility is superb during the cool season, and the depths vary from 39 to 118 feet.

The north of Thailand - is the undisputed bastion of nature. Not only are the forests full of a wild assortment of birds, animals, and orchids, they are also perfumed by sweet mountain breezes and renewed by freshwater streams. The mountains are also home to a number of exotic hill tribes, where visitors can stay overnight in their villages. Trekking expeditions, which usually range from one to three days, include other perks. Elephant rides, bamboo rafting, visits to hot springs and swimming in spring-fed pools beneath gushing waterfalls are the rejuvenating interludes of many itineraries.

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FLORA AND FAUNA

Thailand’s national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are some of the best and most extensive in Southeast Asia, and although abundant wildlife is found everywhere in Thailand, they are the best places to see rare and protected species. Almost all parks have on-site accommodation and food, trails of varying levels of difficulty, and many organize trips, recreational and educational activities.

Huay Kha Khaeng and Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuaries in Uthai Thani and Kanchanaburi provinces respectively are two of the best places to start. They contain such magnificent creatures as bears, leopards, tigers, elephants, tapirs, deers, apes, monkeys, macaque, shy forest ox, and wild cattle.

Khao Yai National Park, three hours from Bangkok, is another excellent nature study site, with many research projects currently underway on creatures such as tigers and hornbills.

Khao Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Chon Buri Province has an open zoo which makes its wildlife particularly accessible. Species include barking deer and brow-antlered deer. In one of the largest aviaries in the world, it also has the sarus crane and black-necked stork, which it is hoped will one day be reintroduced to the wild.

Kaeng Krachan National Park, the country’s largest pristine forest, there are superb walking trails around a 22 mile road, and treks of up to two weeks can be organized. Be prepared for some truly inspiring trees, 230 ft tall and more. Where the forest is open, it is like being inside a living cathedral.

The forests are also home to more than 1,200 species of butterflies, more than almost any country in the world. Visitors out at night may also see the world’s largest moth, spectacular for both its bold brown and cream markings and for its incredible eight inch wingspan
 

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POPULAR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Golfing – with more than 100 golf courses with first-class facilities and affordable fees, golfers love Thailand.

Rock Climbing - the scenery in Krabi Province consists of towering limestone crags, crystalline sunlight, brilliant white beaches, and emeralds seas. Around Rai Le Beach, more than 700 routes have been bolted into the cliff faces, which are prehistoric remnants of what was once the world’s largest coral reef; millions of years ago it stretched from china to Papua New Guinea. Graded according to the French system, the routes vary in difficulty from 5a (which is child’s play) to 8c (which is extremely challenging).
Some believe that “bouldering” is the purest form of climbing, because there are no ropes. Ko Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand, with its incredible selection of granite boulders is well suited to this burgeoning form of climbing.

Cycling - Mountain bikes were invented to navigate the kind of serpentine roads, complete with sky-high vistas and deep valleys, of the country’s northlands. Add a few more details to this mountainous picture, such as dirt trails running alongside rivers, tarmac descents that deliver roller-coast-ride thrills, stopover at Buddhist temples surrounded by luxuriantly green forest, and overnight stays at hill tribe villages, it’s alluring indeed. Stops at such places as elephant camps and the eerily beautiful caves of Chiang Dao should give exhausted riders their second wind. Not far from Bangkok, Nakhon Nayok province is fast becoming a sensation with mountain bikers. That’s because of its off-road biking trails wind through the jungle-cloaked foothills of Khao Yai National Park.

Rafting/ Kayaking - With waterborne adventure sports, one can go from one extreme to the other in Thailand: rafting on a wild, foaming river or paddling in a kayak through a tranquil lagoon surrounded by limestone cliffs. For real white-knuckle rafting, head North to Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, and Nan, the latter province is a new centre for adventure tourism. A major attraction for most rafters and kayakers is to travel into the very heart of the unspoiled wilderness, where few tourists have gone sightseeing: flora, fauna and revering tableaux, pitching a tent out in the jungle and eating dinner beside a campfire. Although rafting is a year-round sport in Thailand, the optimum time for navigating the river is from June to October.
Phang-Nga Bay is the country’s premiere waterways for kayaking. To catch a new wave in kayaking adventure seekers have to embark on a week-long odyssey around Tarutao National Park. Near the Park’s headquarters is a tidal river bordered by a mangrove forest: the tree’s roots grow right out of the water in great tangles. Mangroves are also great places for spotting birds like the Brown-winged Kingfisher.

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TRADITIONAL SPORTS

Muay Thai Boxing - a hard martial art and Thailand's national sport it is referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs” because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) traditionally used in Western boxing.

Kraabi Krabong - a weapon-based martial art whose name refers to the system's main weapons: the sword (krabi) and staff (krabong). It makes use of kicks, pressure points, locks, holds, and throws. The royal bodyguard corps of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) are said to be highly trained experts of krabi krabong.

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IMPORTANT SPORTING EVENTS

Mercedes Trophy Junior Golf Master Final
(June 2010)
Scheduled to take place in the Green Valley Golf Course of the Rayong Province, it attracts more than 100 Thai and international young golf players. The winners secures a spot in the Annual Teenson, the Green World Championship PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach, Florida.

The Phuket King's Cup Regatta
(December 2010)
Asia's biggest and most popular regatta. Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, it is also renowned for its social scene with some of the best parties to be had during Regatta Week.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT THE TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND