It had been a couple weeks since I had hiked to Phraya Nakhon Cave and I was itching to go on another outdoor adventure. So I organized a trip with some friends to hike the Pala-U Waterfall in Kaeng Krachan National Park. We got up early (and hungover) on Saturday and climbed onto the songtaow and tried to nap during the hour and a half drive. The driver made a pit stop at 7-Eleven, which was a life saver!

The drive out to the park was beautiful. One of the great parts of hiking for me is being able to go out into the country of Thailand and see the landscape. Although this waterfall hike completely stole the show.

It was not a particularly difficult hike; the trail followed along the river and there were different levels of the falls that you could hike to. Parts of the path curved away from the river and we were deep in the jungle; there were huge leaves, vines hanging everywhere, and trees that stretched so far up towards the sky I thought I would fall over looking up at them. The water was rushing down the rocks and was filled with fish swimming upstream. As we climbed further up the trail near the water we kept seeing butterflies; lots of small orange ones, big black ones with bright royal blue shining in the light; little white ones; and black ones with a mix of colors. Everywhere we looked there were vibrant colors and signs of life thriving.

We hiked up as far as we were allowed to go (because the water level was still high after the rainy season) and went swimming. The fish nibbled at our feet (and at the mole on my back that fish always think is food haha) and the butterflies flew over our heads as we swam and relaxed. It was so serene and the most magical place I have ever been. It’s the kind of place that makes me believe in magic and something more than this life.