Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary

Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the preserved areas in Thailand. It is situated at the boundary of Thai-Malaysia. It was officially established in 1996. Its area is about 270,725 rais which covers the area of San Kala Khiri Mountain.Hala Forest and Bala Forest are tropical rain forest. Even both areas do not connect to each other, they were registered to be the same wildlife sanctuary area. Hala Forest is in Betong Distict, Yala province and Janae Distict, Narathiwat Province. Bala Forst is in Waeng District and Sukirin District, Narathiwat Province.To visit here, drive on Kwam Man Kong Road (the Public Highway No. 4062) along with San Kala Khiri Mountain. About 5 kilometers from Baan Boo Keh Ta Local Administration Office in Waeng District, there is an animal viewpoint. Pukaothong Protection Unit, a sub unit of Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, is 10 kilometers from the viewpoint. You can see the fog from here. Walking from here for 100 meters, there is a giant baing tree. Its diameter is 25 meters.The sideways of the road are the most abundant forest in Thailand. You can see many rare plants such as “Yuan” tree, a beautiful perennial plant in Fabaceae family which is used for furniture, and “Saya” tree, a prominent tree of Hala-Bala Forests in Dipterocarpaceae family. You might see hornbills here since they usually build their nests on these trees. The route ends at Baan Pukaothong in Sukirin District. The total distance is 18 kilometers.There is a lot of wildlife here that create balance in ecological system. Most of them are rare in Thailand such as siamangs and giant Asian river frog, the biggest frog in Thailand. Thailand’s 4 reserved wild animals, serows, Malayan tapirs, marbled cats, and Sumatran rhinoceros, can be found here.Since the wildlife sanctuary area is fragile, staying overnight is not allowed. The best season for nature study is from the end of February to September since there is little rain. Visitors who would like to access the area for nature study should send a letter to Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary at P.O Box 3, Waeng District, Narathiwat 96160 or at Wildlife Sanctuary Administration Unit, Natural Resource Preservation Bureau, Royal Forest Department. For more information, please contact 0 7351 9202.