Thap Lan

Thap Lan National Park was created in 1981 in north-eastern Thailand, between the provinces of Prachinburi and Nakhon Ratchasima, and protects some 2,236 km². It is the country's second largest national park.

Its name alludes to the lan, the talipot palm, of which the park preserves one of the largest natural palm groves in Thailand. It is a striking species: its leaves, among the largest in the plant kingdom, were used for centuries to write Buddhist manuscripts, and the plant flowers only once after several decades of life and then dies. The dominant vegetation is deciduous and semi-evergreen monsoon forest, with areas of dry dipterocarp forest.

On 14 July 2005, at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Durban, Thap Lan was inscribed on the List as part of the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, made up of five protected areas: the national parks of Khao Yai, Pang Sida, Thap Lan and Ta Phraya and the Dong Yai wildlife sanctuary, with 6,152 km² in all. It is Thailand's second largest forest complex by area. Thap Lan carries a serious problem of agricultural encroachment within its boundaries and has been the scene of illegal logging of Siamese rosewood, a timber of extremely high value whose trade towards East Asia has led to armed clashes with rangers.