Erawan Falls – Must See in Thailand!

Erawan Falls are hands down the most gorgeous waterfalls I have seen in Thailand! I would call them a Thailand Must See! The Erawan Falls are actually 7 tiers of waterfalls located in Erawan National Park – which is only a little more than 3 hours from Bangkok!

Are the Erawan Falls worth going to? Absolutely!!! We were blown away by the turquoise water filled with dozens of fish. The different layers of waterfalls cascading through the jungle were unlike anything we had seen before! While the hike does get difficult, if you’re lucky enough to reach the top you can watch many wild monkeys playing in the trees above you. It is a truly magical place!

Read on to see how to get to the Erawan Falls, the best time to go, and all about each of these 7 magical waterfalls!

If you don’t have much time, there are some day trips you can sign up for from Bangkok that go directly to Erawan Falls and back to the city. However, I wouldn’t recommend such a short trip.. try to combine your Erawan Falls trip with a trip to Kanchanaburi and exploring more of this amazing area of Thailand!

All About the Erawan Falls

Where are the Erawan Falls?

As stated above, the Erawan Falls are actually 7 tiers of waterfalls located in Erawan National Park. The Erawan Falls are about 65km (1 hour) northwest of Kanchanaburi, or 200km (3 hours 15 minutes) from Bangkok. See how to get there.

How much does it cost to enter?

Tickets to enter the national park are 300 baht for foreign adults and 200 baht for children. They’re significantly less for locals at only 100 baht each.

If you drive there you also need to pay for parking. Parking at Erawan National Park is either 30 baht for a car or 20 baht for a motorbike.

You need to use cash for your tickets and parking!

What facilities are available?

We were surprised that there were multiple restaurants right at the entrance to the park! There were many options for cheap Thai food (we ate at Baan Mook 5 and loved it) as well as places to buy coffee, water, and even water accessories like different floaties! One thing that you cannot purchase is alcohol! National parks in Thailand do not sell alcohol.

There are bathrooms available at the entrance, as well as a bathroom by the tier 1 and 2 waterfalls. There are no bathrooms between tiers 3-7!

When is the best time to visit the Erawan Falls?

We can say with certainty to try to avoid weekends and holidays (if possible) as this is a very popular place to visit. Tons of people flock there from Bangkok so there will be significantly less people on a weekday.

Second, make sure you get there EARLY! As early as possible. Take some pictures at the first two tiers while there aren’t many people, then head up to the top. When you get back down it’s almost guaranteed that those first two tiers will be full of people swimming! Lots of people at the falls is also negative because they can mix up the sediment in the water and make it appear cloudy instead of clear blue.

As for what month to visit, it completely depends on the weather. July-October is rainy season. The waterfalls should be flowing with tons of water during these months. However the negative to that is that the excess water can mix up the sediment in the pools making it appear cloudy or even brown instead of the gorgeous blue it’s known for.

Opposite to that, it is summer from March-June and much more dry. This lack of rain can leave some of the waterfalls without a lot of water. Obviously you’re going to see waterfalls, so there should be water falling! It is also very hot during these months which can make the hike up even more difficult.

Weather wise it would be best to visit Erawan Falls between November-January when it’s cooler to hike up to the top, there should still be lots of water in the falls as it’s not too long after rainy season, but there shouldn’t be tons of rain to mix up the sediment and make the water appear brown.

We visited at the end of January. All of these pictures are from the end of January and we were not disappointed at all! All of the waterfalls had water and all the pools were the most gorgeous blue color! Is this always going to happen in January? Maybe not, but there’s a good chance.

How difficult is the hike at Erawan Falls?

It is extremely easy to get to the first two waterfalls! The first waterfall is only 500 meters from the entrance. Most of those 500 meters are along a paved path!

The second waterfall is only 100 meters past the first one! It takes literally two minutes to walk between them.

After the second waterfall there are some stairs, and I would say it continues to get more difficult the farther you go. However, it’s worth it!

Keep in mind that the weather can also make this hike more difficult. Kanchanaburi is already a very hot province, I wouldn’t even want to imagine trying to hike to the top during April (Thailand’s hottest month).

How much time should I spend at Erawan Falls?

Definitely plan on spending your entire day here! The park is open from 8am-4:30pm everyday. Get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds! It took us 2 hours to get to the top, but we did stop many times to take tons of pictures and enjoy ourselves on the way up. Also leave yourself time to go swimming. You definitely don’t want to rush the falls!

Our Hike Up the 7 Waterfalls

Tier 1: Hlai Khuen Rung – 500m from Entrance

Once you arrive, stock up on some water, use the vending machine to buy your tickets, and go to the bathroom before you start to hike. The path to the first waterfall is very easy and paved. It’s only 500 meters!

Even before that you will start to see the gorgeous blue to the left of the path! Make sure to take some pictures when you arrive because there will definitely be more people there on your way out!

Tier 2: Wang Macha – 600m from Entrance

Only 1-2 minutes past the first waterfall, you arrive at the second waterfall. This one has the biggest pool and is the best to swim in! Due to how big it is and how easy it is to get to, this one is always packed with people!

When we arrived at 10:30am there weren’t a lot of people there. However, when we were leaving at 3pm it was packed! There are also life jackets by falls 1 and 2 that you can rent.

Make sure you go to the bathroom here as it is the only bathroom inside the park! Also, if you want to go farther, you need to continue on to waterfalls 3-7 before 4pm. After 4pm you aren’t allowed to go farther.

Tier 3: Pha Namtok – 700m from Entrance

It is another short 100 meters from waterfall 2 to waterfall 3, however you have to go up a few stairs to get there.

There is also a checkpoint here that says no food and no plastic! We had multiple plastic water bottles (as you should while hiking in the heat). I have heard they usually require you to leave a 20 baht deposit per plastic bottle to ensure you bring the bottles out with you, however when we went no one was checking. Make sure you have some cash in case you need to pay the deposit and either way, take your trash out with you!!!

When we arrived at waterfall 3, it was very high and picturesque. There was a group of people waiting at the side to get the perfect picture. Since we wanted to go the whole way to waterfall 7, we didn’t spend much time here waiting, however it is definitely worth it to go the extra 100 meters from tier 2!

Tier 4: Oke Nang Peesau – 1,050m from Entrance

From waterfall 3, it is a further 350 meters up to waterfall 4….and unfortunately there are quite a lot of stairs!

At the top of the stairs there is a little viewpoint. You can’t see much except the distant mountains, but it is a good place to take a quick break and drink some water after the steep stairs!

Waterfall 4 wasn’t the biggest or best in our opinion, but the water was an amazing blue color!

Tier 5: Buea Mai Long – 1,550m from Entrance

There are another 500 meters this time between waterfalls 4 and 5. While it does get steeper here, there are also some cool things along the way to distract you from the difficulty of it!

Such as these dresses in the trees.

Or these cute little boardwalks up above the blue water.

There are also many places to swim along the way! Slightly after the sign for waterfall 5 (but before waterfall 6) was our favorite picture spot! It was quite a challenge to walk out to the middle of the waterfall while avoiding the fish biting our feet, however we definitely think it was worth it!

In our opinion, waterfall 5 is the best waterfall at Erawan Falls!!!

Tier 6: Dong Prucksa – 1,750m from Entrance

After you leave waterfall 5 the hike gets difficult. The ground is no longer even and it’s much more challenging to hike than the beginning. Luckily it’s only 200 meters to the next tier!

We also saw our first monkeys while walking between waterfalls 5 and 6!

You’ll soon arrive at a sign in the middle of the path that says waterfall 6 is to the right and waterfall 7 is to the left.

There were SO many monkeys right here! If you see a tree moving, look up because it is probably a monkey! You’re not allowed to feed the monkeys, which keeps them less aggressive, however you should still be cautious as they might want to steal your things!

If you turn right, it is a really easy walk to waterfall 6. It’s cool because it’s along the boardwalk. Although you can’t swim at waterfall 6, it is a nice break before the final stairs to waterfall 7.

Tier 7: Phu Pha Erawan – 2,000m from Entrance

Hopefully the monkeys and the boardwalks refreshed you a little because the final stairs to waterfall 7 are rough!

As soon as you get to the top of the huge staircase, you’re greeted with a sign that says ‘You are the conquerer’!

This is another great place to swim and take pictures with the stunning waterfall! Just be careful of all the little fish in the water as they love to nibble on your feet! Think of it like one of those fish spas they have in some malls……we were NOT fans, however we were talking to a French girl who let the fish nibble on her feet the entire time we were there! She claimed it was a free pedicure!

How to Get to the Erawan Falls

The first step to go to the Erawan Falls is to get to Kanchanaburi. Kanchanaburi is only 2 hours from Bangkok and there are many ways to get there! There are many buses, both big buses and minibuses, that go to Kanchanaburi frequently. Another popular way is to take the train there.

Once you’re in Kanchanaburi you have the following options:

Rent a Motorbike to Erawan Falls

This is the option that we chose as we spent the weekend in Kanchanaburi so the moto was useful to get to many other places as well! There are many different places to rent motorbikes in Kanchanaburi. We paid 250 baht/day. While many places want you to leave your passport for a deposit, try to offer an ID plus a copy of your passport. This is what we were able to do at NP Motorcycle rental.

Once you have your motorbike, it’s a straight shot to Erawan Falls which only takes about an hour. One piece of advice – make sure you use a helmet with a face shield! You will be driving quite fast along a busy road. We had bugs, dirt, and dust on us. This would not have been fun without a face shield on the helmet!

Public Bus from Kanchanaburi to Erawan Falls

There are public buses that frequently leave the Kanchanaburi bus station and head to Erawan Falls for only 50 baht each way! While having a motorbike gives you more freedom to go where you want, the bus lets you avoid the sun (which can be brutal in Kanchanaburi).

Before covid these buses were running almost hourly between 8am-5:50pm. However during the pandemic they were only running three times a day. Double check with your hotel to confirm the bus times during your stay!

Taxi/Private Driver from Kanchanaburi to Erawan Falls

You can also take a taxi or a private car from Kanchanaburi to the Erawan Falls, however this would be much more expensive than the other two options.

Take a Tour to Erawan Falls

There are also many tours that go from Bangkok to Erawan Falls. Check out some of these highly rated ones if you’re short on time!

Where to Stay in Kanchanaburi

We recommend you to stay overnight in Kanchanaburi at least one or two nights during your trip to Erawan Falls! There is so much to see in Kanchanaburi as well!

We stayed at a super budget friendly hostel in a private room over the water (T&T Hostel). However there are so many options for all different budgets!

What to Bring to Erawan Falls

When going to Erawan Falls, you will most likely be swimming, sweaty from hiking, or both. Wear clothes that are breathable and you don’t mind getting dirty! I wore a bikini under my clothes so it was easy to jump in at the top as there are no bathrooms past tier 2.

If you don’t plan on going farther than the first two lower tiers, flip flops would be fine. However, if you want to hike farther than that I would recommend sturdy shoes that are good for hiking but could also get wet! We wore sneakers but they did end up a little wet. Water shoes could also be a good option (and save you from the fish)!

We took our small backpacking towels to dry off without taking up much space!

Take a GoPro or a waterproof pouch for your phone so you can get lots of waterfall pictures!

Water! You’ll need lots of water to complete the hike in the Thailand heat! However remember the rule about no plastic. Either take your own reusable water bottle or have some 20 baht bills ready for deposits.

Make sure you take cash as you’ll need it for the entrance tickets, water bottle deposits, etc.

Check out our YouTube Video to see just how amazing the Erawan Falls are!!!

Want to see some more fun trips to make from Bangkok? Check out our posts about Hua Hin and Bang Krachao!