| Phu Pha Man National Park | |
| Alt Name: | อุทยานแห่งชาติภูผาม่าน |
| Iucn Category: | II |
| Map: | Thailand |
| Relief: | yes |
| Location: | Thailand |
| Nearest City: | Khon Kaen |
| Coordinates: | 16.7439°N 102.0011°W |
| Area Km2: | 350 |
| Established: | 2000 |
| Visitation Num: | 9,682 |
| Visitation Year: | 2019 |
| Governing Body: | Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation |
Phu Pha Man National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติภูผาม่าน) is a national park in Thailand's Khon Kaen and Loei provinces. This forested park is home to caves, waterfalls and steep cliffs.
Phu Pha Man National Park is located about 100km (100miles) west of the city of Khon Kaen in the Phu Pha Man and Chum Phae districts of Khon Kaen Province and Phu Kradueng District of Loei Province. The park's area is 218,750 rai ~ .[1] Park elevations range from 200m (700feet) to 800m (2,600feet).
Klang Khao cave is notable for its large daily exodus of bats at dusk, making a formation about 10km (10miles) long. Other park caves feature stalagmite and stalactite formations. The Lai Thaeng cave hosts rock paintings dating back up to 2,000 years.
The park's highest waterfall is Tat Yai waterfall at 80m (260feet) high. Tat Rong waterfall reaches 60m-70mm (200feet-230feetm) high. The black rock Pha Nok Khao cliff rises above the Phong river.
The park's forest types are mostly evergreen and mixed deciduous. Plant life includes rattan, orchid and cogon grass. Park animals include wild boar, barking deer, monitor lizard and pangolin.
Fossil tracks of prehistoric animals have been discovered in the park at the Tat Yai waterfall area, which is part of the Huai Hin Lat Formation. They were first discovered in May 2023, and the first tracks discovered belonged to a sauropod.[2] On 10 January 2024, a team of paleontologists from Thailand's Department of Mineral Resources discovered several more prehistoric footprints dating to the late Triassic period around 220–225 million years ago.[3] Several of the footprints belong to dinosaurs, making them the oldest dinosaur tracks discovered in Thailand and Asia.[4] The tracks are in good condition and show the details of the feet of five different species, including dinosaur types such as ornithopods, theropods, sauropods, and archosaurs.