Phetchabun province is famous for its large mountains and cooler climate. There are numerous reasons why this regions is popular among Thai tourists. While it is still over 5 hours from Bangkok and 6-7 hours from Pattaya, it is still considered a weekend destination - perhaps referring to the 'long weekends' that include a Friday and Monday!
However, Phetchabun is also famous for its camping. There are hundreds of campsites throughout the province. Almost all camp resorts are set up and ready for guests to simply turn up. Tents are provided, toilet and shower blocks are on hand and restaurants are everywhere. Although this style of camping is popular with many in Thailand, we were looking for for something 'different'!
Our destination was at a place called Pha Tat, only accessible by 4x4 along a rough 15km mountain track. We have visited this spot many times and keep returning because, in our mind, it's one of the best wild camp spots in the country.
You can't always be sure that you will be camping alone on the day you choose but you can be sure there will still be plenty of space around and no more than 1 or 2 offroad or moto groups on the same night.
At least it will never be as crowded as the camp resorts in the valleys below as shown in the next photo!
Source: Google Images, camping resorts
Source: Google Maps
Source: Google Images, Phetchabun attractions
Pha Tat is the steep rocky mountain behind the Buddhas in the above photo.
As we had planned a half week trip to Phetchabun we tried to pass through some of the alternative hot spots. We had previously visited the temples and picked strawberries but had only seen the wind turbines from a far. I am not sure if this would be considered a tourist destination if outside of Thailand but here it is as there are so few of them in the country.
We decided to take one of the dirt tracks on the far side of the mountain in an attempt to avoid the crowds and tour groups at the main entrance. It looped around through some scrubland and brought us up to a gravel road leading into and through the turbines. There was no gate and no sign, so in we went.
No sooner had we entered and neared one of the huge turbines did we get turned away and asked to leave by one of the security guard patrolling by motorbike. He told us that all visitors must enter through the front entrance and access to the first 2 turbines was allowed.
After a short and friendly chat answering his questions on how we gained access, we turned around and returned back down the track we had come up on.
Our next stop was Pha Tat, it can be seen in the photo below. It is the main ridge and cliff edge to the top left of the photo. Although not far in distance, it did take some time to get there as we had opted to take the 4x4 route.
As we reached the foot of Pha Tat, we new the last 15km winding up through the forest to the top would be slow. It was already the afternoon and we were both starving so decided to pull over and cook.
A simple fold out BBQ and some coals did just the trick, although waiting for it to get hot enough required some patience.
Local markets in the previous town sold fresh food and the smell of BBQ'd meat caught the attention of our dog who positioned herself just a couple of meters away.
As we drove through the forest we remembered that there were some sections that required extra care. Wet mud can offer great grip with mud tyres but when it is hard packed and the forest is humid and damp, the surface can turn slick and traction can be lost easily. This is only a problem on steep hills when momentum cannot be maintained.
Luckily for us the soil was just right and with moderate momentum and 4LOW the last steep track was no match. We arrived at the top of Pha Tat about 10mins later and drove out onto the grassy edge to look at the views.
The temple shown in the Google Image example above of the white Buddhas is the same temple that can be seen in the mid ground of the photo below. It is one of the main attractions of the area and called Wat Pha Sorn Kaew.
Temple location: https://goo.gl/maps/aAsL6nszbmVG3FUH6
Pha Tat location: https://goo.gl/maps/xEybxKzgrCpwE58W9
Cloud cover had started coming in since we left the wind turbines earlier that day and even though it looked slightly dull and gloomy at times it was still just as hot. When the sun did break through, we were wishing for a little shade but with no big trees we relied on a gentle breeze to keep us cool.
Short grass on the top plateau made a perfect campsite. It was clean, rubbish free, easy to move around and most of all, our dog stayed clean - the last thing we want when sharing a small 2 man tent is a dirty dog!
Having a dog running round attracted the attention of the free roaming cows. I am aware of how dangerous dairy cows can be in the UK when out dog walking but Thai cows just seem to stare! We have encountered situations like this many times and never had a problem - touch wood.
We set up camp just on the edge of the cliff and had wonderful views out across the valley below.
Weather conditions were perfect to fly my Mavic Pro 1 drone and get some photos. You can see that we shared the mountain top with 2 other groups. A moto group were to our right and another 4x4 group were to our left. In fact we were hoping to set up camp on the furthest spot along but the 4x4 group has beaten us to it.
We cooked on the gas stove and used what was left from the market shop that morning. With the sun dropping and the wind turning cold, we were just pleased to have something hot.
Since the mountain top rounded off, the cliff edge felt relatively safe as there was no immediate danger of taking one step too far and falling 200ft. Having said that we were aware that the further over you went the steeper the slope became.
You can't go wrong with an edible plate in the form of a wrap while out camping. Eco friendly, convenient, easy to pack, ready to eat and always delicious.
The last of the evening light started to fade and we were left looking out at the lights below. Most of what we looked down on was in total darkness but strings of lights indicated where the main roads where.
Trying to take night shots on long exposure with my camera was difficult as I hadn't really done it before. YouTube videos gave an indication of the correct settings but 9/10 shots were fails. Some 25mins later I called it a night and decided enough was enough and to wait and see how they turn out with some colour correction in Lightroom and Photoshop on my computer.
I'm pleased to say the effort late at night in the cold wind was worth it even if for just 1 image.
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All content is original: the photos (unless stated), the writing and the adventure!