Thale Noi
Ramsar Wetland At The Head Of Songkhla Lake; Waterbirds, Swimming Water Buffalo And Pink Water Lilies · Khuan Khanun, Phatthalung
Thale Noi, the little sea, is a shallow freshwater lake and marsh at the northern head of the Songkhla Lake system in Phatthalung province, southern Thailand, and one of the country's most important wetlands, listed under the Ramsar Convention. Its open water, reed beds, sedge marshes and paperbark swamp forest shelter great numbers of waterbirds, among them purple herons, egrets, cormorants, jacanas and purple swamphens, joined by migrant ducks in the cool season. For much of the year, and above all roughly from March to May, parts of the lake are covered by carpets of pink and red water lilies that open at dawn, and longtail boats carry visitors through them as the sun rises. Herds of Thale Noi water buffalo graze the marshes and swim between islands of grass, one of the most unusual sights in Thailand. A long bridge now crosses the lake, local people weave sedge mats and baskets, and Phatthalung town, with its cave temple, lies about 30 to 40 kilometres away.
Thale Noi, Khuan Khanun, Khuan Khanun, Phatthalung, 93150, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: boat tours leave from the piers from around dawn, roughly 6 am, until the late afternoon, with the best trips before about 9 am, when the lilies are open and the birds active; boatmen may stop running in the heat of midday or in bad weather. The lakeshore and bridge are open at all hours. Any visitor facilities of the non-hunting area keep daytime hours. Wat Khuha Sawan in Phatthalung is open daily in daytime. Boats may be limited or cancelled in the late-year monsoon, roughly October to December, and when water is very high or low. The traps are arriving at midday when the lilies have closed, coming in the monsoon, and expecting a bus to reach the lake before dawn. Confirm current times before relying on them.