Cheow Lan Lake

Rajjaprabha DamEdit

Rajjaprabha Dam, meaning "the light of the kingdom", got its name in May 1987 from the king at the opening ceremony on the king's 60th birthday. Before that day it was called the "Cheow Lan Project". It was a so-called multi-purpose project for power generation, flood control, irrigation and fishery. In 1982, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) started to create the Rajjaprabha Dam and block the Klong Saeng River. It took about one year until they completely flooded the 165 square kilometres (64 sq mi) basin. To flood this large area, 385 families of Ban Chiew Lan village were resettled. Rubber and other farming opportunities such as poultry, fruit orchards, vegetable farming, and reservoir fishery were introduced together with the needed training programs and credit facilities to sustain the farmers' income.

Each family received 19 rai (7.2 acres) of rubber plantation as well as one rai (0.39 acres) for their private homes. As part of the compensation, the resettled people received 1,000 baht monthly per family. Resettlement drove the creation of basic public infrastructure, water supply systems, and public buildings such as schools, police station, medical center, and community hall which were built by the Thai government.

A resettlement of animals took place by boat and helicopter to prevent them from drowning or starving on new created islands. Many fish species died due to the stagnant water conditions. Those which survived adapted to their new environment.

TourismEdit

"Nowhere in the Kingdom of Thailand can one find a more spectacular setting for karst topography than the flooded reservoir of Cheow Lan." Apart from the fascinating limestone cliffs and evergreen rain forest jungle, the national park area is inhabited by a large range of mammals such as tigers, elephants, tapirs and many monkey species. Birds such as hornbills, banded pittas and great argus are as well forest residents. Less commonly seen reptiles include the king cobra, reticulated python, and flying lizards. The reservoir area includes the Khlong Saeng, Khlong Nakha and Kaeng Krung wildlife sanctuaries where rare animals can be found. West of Khao Sok National Park lies Sri Phang Nga National Park which extends the preservation area to 4,000 square kilometers.

The village of Khao Sok is at the entrance to the national park (about 60 kilometers west of the dam) and continues to build more resorts to increase its capacity. Access to the lake at Ratchaprabha Dam is further southeast in Ban Ta Khun District, approximately halfway between Khao Sok and Surat Thani. The dam is the only place where the lake is accessible by boat.

Around the reservoir 17 different "floating bungalows" accommodate tourists. Only descendants of original inhabitants of Cheow Lan village and officials of the national park are allowed licenses to own and operate these bungalows.