Thi Lo Su is a name of a waterfall located in the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Tak Province. In Thai we call it “Namtok Thi Lo Su” (Numtok means waterfall). And you might wonder what make this place a World Heritage Site confirmed by UNESCO. Well that you have to find out.
Thi Lo Su is not a Thai name. But as I did some research, the word Thi Lo Su is a local language from the North. It states that Thi Lo means water fall and Su means loud. So basically Thi Lo Su means a really loud waterfall. It makes loud noise because of its size and the amount and the intense flow of the water. However in Karen, Thi Lo Su has different meaning which is “Black Waterfall”.
Thi Lo Su is claimed to be the most beautifully gorgeous waterfall in Thailand. It is actually the 6th biggest waterfall in the world, so this is huge. The water falls off the limestone cliff at the height of 200-300 meters to the tiers surrounded by natural forests. And just like in all limestone landscape, behind the waterfall there is a big cave that interests whoever visit the place.
If you want to go there, you can take a raft (Yes, a raft) or drive. But if you want to drive you will need a 4 wheel drive vehicle because the road to the place going to be nasty cutting through jungle and all. But that’s not it, you can drive but the road doesn’t lead you to the waterfall. You have to continue on foot for 1.5 kilometers on forest trail. This is really exciting and along the way you can admire the beauty of the forest. However in rainy season, which is coming soon in October December, Thi Lo Su will be a lot harder to go to because you can only get there by rafting and continue on foot that will take you about 4-5 hours.
And the only option of staying the night is by camping really near the falls. And I really recommend you go there in November or December because it’s said to be the most beautiful at this time.