Popular with local tourists, Phu Ruea National Park is worth a visit with your family if you are in the region. The national park is situated in the province of Loei, which is known as the province with the coldest year-round temperature. The national park is a mountain in Loei province as is specifically known for its coldest temperatures. In fact, Phu Ruea has been labeled the coldest place in Thailand. The coolest time of year is between November and February. So, if you are coming for the coldest you can get that is really best time to com. Our kids loved bundling up and exploring this area.
History
Phu Ruea (add in Thai) literally means ‘boat mountain’. It was named for the shape of the ridge looking like a boat.
The ridge overlooks the surrounding countryside north to Laos and includes Phu Ruea peak as well as several other mountain pearls. Several rivers in the area begin along here. Because of this geography and its inhabitants, Phu Ruea gained national park status in 1979. It was the 16th national park in the country (there are now over 147 national parks in Thailand!).
Throughout the years, the peak has become more popular as Thais want to visit the coldest places in the country.
With a huge sign showing the current temperature, people flock here when the number falls down into a single digit.
How to Get to Phu Ruea National Park
The national park is up in the mountain range that hugs the border between Laos and Thailand. It is also the divide between the north region of Thailand (think Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai) and the northeast region called the Isaan region of Thailand.
The national park is an hour and a half north of the provincial capital of Loei. If you are touring Loei province, one of our family’s favorite off the beaten path provinces in Thailand, you will want to add this to your itinerary.
If you are coming from either Bangkok or Chiang Mai, it will take about 8 hours to drive to the park.
We recommend putting together an itinerary that includes a trip to Chiang Khan with a trip to Phu Ruea as they are about an hour and a half drive between them. Chiang Khan is a quaint town on the edge of the Mekong, a great contrast to the mountain peak of Phu Ruea.
If you are a camping family, this is also a fun trip to add on after a hike up Phu Kradueng. The two national parks are about 2 hours away from each other. After the arduous climb up Phu Kradueng, camping right next to your car in Phu Ruea National Park will feel like a treat! Read more about comparing these two different parks below. Both parks are known for their cold weather.
We enjoyed using Phu Ruea as a stop on car trips when we were heading to Chiang Mai from our home in the northeast region. It was just a short detour off our main path. We would drive 3 hours from Udon Thani and then the next day, drive the 8 hours to Chiang Mai.
All that said, you do need to have a personal vehicle in order to get to Phu Ruea National Park. It is not very reachable by public transportation. If you are already in the city of Loei, you may be able to find a service that will take you to the national park if you ask you accommodations.
Best Time to Visit
In a tropical country like Thailand, any time you find a cold location, you get excited. But in Phu Ruea it is cool year-round because it is mountainous location.
The coldest time though, is November to February. Temperatures can drop below freezing at night! It is warm clothing weather throughout much the day, something unheard of in most of the rest of Thailand! If you are there in early morning or late at night it can be especially important to wear layers. During the daytime, and in the sun, it is perfect all the time!
The area surrounding the national park is full of pick-your-own strawberry farms, and you can buy baskets of strawberries at farm stands along the road. Again – not something you see in most of Thailand! Our kids just loved being bundled up and eating strawberries! You can find strawberries mostly during the months of December – February
Do expect the national park and the area surrounding it to be busy around Christmas and New Years holidays. The accommodations in the area will be higher priced and may be fully booked so plan ahead if you plan to come here during that time.
In December, there is also a Phu Ruea Christmas Tree Festival in town near the entrance to the national park. Poinsettias are everywhere! It is beautiful but also draws a crowd.
If you are wanting to explore the national park but don’t care about the extreme cold, we recommend visiting the other months when things are quiet. Due to the elevation, it will always be cooler in the national park than in the lowlands, so even during hot season (April to June), Phu Ruea is a respite from the heat. We went at the beginning of the hot season, and it was like air-conditioning 24/7.
Phu Ruea National Park Entrance Fee and Hours
Phu Ruea National Park Cost Entrance Fee
Adult (Foreign) - 200 THB
Child (Foreign) - 100 THB
Adult (Thai) - 20 THB
Child (Thai) - 10 THB
Hours
5:00am - 8:00pm
(If you are camping or staying in the park overnight you do not have to leave at 8:00pm)
Service in the Park
There are 2 visitor’s centers available to visit in the park. One is next to the park headquarters and is known as Visitor Center 1. The other one is a few kilometers down the road and called Visitor Center 2.
Both visitor’s center areas have bathrooms and showers available. There are also camping facilities in both visitor centers. You can pick up camping equipment like tents and sleeping bags and tents at both locations.
Visitor Center 1 is at the park headquarters. Around this building, you will find a number of restaurants, as well as a cafe. There are a lot of stalls that sell food along this area also that open up when the park is busy. When we have been there, they are mostly shut down. The restaurants and cafe remain open even when it is less busy.
Halfway up on the drive to the Visitor Center 2, you will find another parking lot at Lourn Noi Checkpoint. You must park here and take the national park vehicle if you want to ride to the peak. This area is where you will find the songtaew (shared vehicle) ride to the peak. Look for a few guys standing around pickup trucks with a roof and bench seat in the back. These are you guys. It is just a 1 kilometer ride and will cost 10 baht each way. You will pay the driver in cash for each trip.
Our driver asked us if we wanted to return also and how long we planned to be at the top. We told him that we would be walking back. If you want a ride back either you will need to let him know when you plan to return down or catch another guy as he is dropping off his passengers.
Ride to the Peak
One way - 10 THB
There are a few bungalows are also available to stay in. These are found next to the main park headquarters at Visitor Center 1. Camping is available to both Visitor Centers.
Visitor’s Center 2 is more remote and has only one canteen option where you will find some small foods and snacks. There is a place to rent camping equipment at Visitor’s Center 2 so you do not have to have all your own equipment.
In each visitor centers you will find bathrooms and showers available.
Two things to take note of in regards to facilities and services in the park – the national park definitely has high season times with many people visiting. In our experience, many restaurants are only open during these popular times. So we recommend bringing food with you if you are not sure if it will be a busy season or not. These high seasons correspond to when the weather is cold, so expect more people from October to February.
Thai’s love coming to Phu Ruea to experience the cold.
Second, remember that Phu Ruea National Park is quite far from the tourist circuit, so English speakers are not common in this area. If you don’t speak Thai, hand gestures and google translate will get you pretty far!
Things to Do in Phu Ruea National Park
The Peak
The main attraction at the national park is definitely the Phu Ruea Peak. The draw is the gorgeous view as you look down on the surrounding area (they say you can see all the way into Laos on a clear day!).
Along with the view is the large sign showing the temperature and stating it is the coldest place in Thailand.
Lastly, you find a Buddha statue and a large gong that you can bang. Our children loved being able to hit the gong!
There is a small path along the edge of the peak between Phu Ruea peak and Ya Pham cliff. Walking along will give you different vantage points with which to look out at the surrounding countryside. If you have little, taking the short walk might be the best ‘hike’ you get in. It only takes a few minutes to walk it, but you must indeed walk as it is not stroller friendly.
To get to the peak, you have two options:
The first option is you can drive into the national park and park your car at the park Lourn Noi Checkpoint. From there you need to take a park songtaew (shared vehicle) up to the peak.
It will cost you 10 baht up and 10 baht back. But if you want a ride, this is the only way to do it. Just pay cash directly to the driver.
With a preschooler or baby, the songtaew could be a blessing so they don’t have to be carried to the top or made to walk beyond what they are capable.
The second option is to get to the top is to hike! You can hike on the trail from the park headquarters at Visitor Center 1, through Visitor Center 2, and then onto to the peak. This full trail is around 4 km long. This trail will have you avoid the Lourn Noi Checkpoint entirely, so you cannot hop onto the ride up if you get tired halfway through.
You can also choose to hike from Lourn Noi Checkpoint. This will be a slightly less than 1 km hike at about 900 meters.
You can also park at Visitor Center 2 and hike to the peak. That is a 1.3 km hike. Since we camped at Visitor Center 2, the older 2 kids and mom hiked the 1.3 km from there to the peak. It was not too hard a walk at all, just had some branches coming into the path as we walked. Signs were posted along the way to keep us going the right direction. The younger 2 kids chose to ride in the vehicle.
Another popular way to visit the peak is to go at sunrise. The park opens at 5 am in order to allow people to get to the peak before the sun rises. The draw of the sun rise at the peak is to watch the clouds that settle over the lowland rise as the sun rises and warms the air.
With young kids we chose to just stay in our campground and watch from there. It was also beautiful but perhaps not as spectacular as if we had chosen to go to the peak.
Phali Rock Garden Hike and Huai Phai Waterfall
There are several other hikes to take around the national park. The one that seems the most popular is to the Huai Phai Waterfall. It is a 2.5 km hike from the park headquarters. So, a 5km round trip total. The amount of rain that has recently come impacts the size of many waterfalls around Thailand, so going during the rainy seasons will mean larger waterfalls.
The one other hike we took was from Visitor Center 2 to the Phali Rock Garden. This was an easy short hike and the kids enjoyed seeing the big rocks at the rock garden. The kids were allowed to climb around on the naturally formed boulders and rocks of the rock garden. To be clear, the rock garden is naturally forming rocks that appear out of place along the trail, like they were placed. There are some nice overhangs and funny shaped rocks to explore with kids.
You can check out the national park map for other hike options. Of course, you can always ask for recommendations based on your family’s ages from the visitor center. We found English levels to be low, but you can do a lot through google translate.
Accommodations in the Park
By Visitor’s Center 1, there are a few different bungalows available for rent. These are basic housing facilities with beds for the number of guests indicated and a bathroom. You can reserve the bungalows on the national park website.
If you are not a camping family but want to be right near the peak to watch the sunrise, this is your best option. They fill up fast during high season, so book well in advance!
There are 2 different areas to camp inside Phu Ruea National Park.
The campground at the park headquarters is found under a sparsely planted pine forest. The advantage of this option is the number of restaurants available for your use while you camp.
All camping equipment can be rented right there if you don’t have your own.
The second campsite is found at Visitor’s Center 2. It is still accessible by road but only has one restaurant option. There is a fire pit area for communal use which is nice since individual fires are prohibited. There is a nice grassy area to camp here.
The advantages of staying next to Visitor Center 2 are the remoteness – more trail options available for hiking – and the views looking out as you are at a higher elevation.
There is a camping office here too in order to rent your equipment.
Please remember that it gets quite chilly here at night (can be in the single digits celsius November through February). Bring layers with you and winter clothing such as hats and mittens. The kids loved being able to see their breath in the cold air, but they sure were happy to be bundled up!
The sleeping bags to rent are not heavy, so extra blankets are also helpful to have.
Camping Fees
30 THB / Person / Night
Equpment Rental Prices
Tent - 225 THB
Sleeping Bag - 30 THB
Sleeping Pad - 20 THB
Pillow - 10 THB
Charcoal Stove - 10 THB (This was not listed as an option to rent, but we asked, and they rented to us for 10THB)
Rental prices are the same for Thai and foreigners
Is Phu Ruea Worth Visiting with Kids?
Our answer would be yes and no. It really depends on what you are wanting to experience while you are in Thailand.
If you live in Thailand or are spending a long holiday around Loei, please add this to your list. You won’t regret it! After always being hot, it’s fun to find a cold place! The kids will love it!
If you are in Thailand for a short holiday and are in Loei to get off the beaten path, we would suggest checking out Chiang Khan first before making time to go to Phu Ruea. Chiang Khan has a great walking street and skywalk to explore.
Phu Ruea vs Phu Kradueng: Which is Better with Kids?
Phu Ruea and Phu Kradueng are two different locations in Thailand that are both equally known for being cold. Both attract visitors for the express purpose of busting out the winter jackets and catching some winter vibes. But if you are going with a family, which one is the better option?
Phu Ruea has the distinct advantage of accessibility – you can drive in to the visitor’s center and a short ride will take you to the peak. So, if you have toddlers and preschoolers, we definitely recommend going to Phu Ruea. However, Phu Ruea is a much smaller area, and you will not have as much to do when you are at the peak where it is the coldest. Phu Ruea is colder than Phu Kradueng, and is been deemed the coldest place in Thailand. There can be frost from time to time as it does get below freezing.
Phu Kradueng you need to hike uphill for a few hours before you reach the viewpoint! It is a 5.5 km grueling uphill hike, so you need to be prepared for some intense walking to get to the top of Phu Kradueng. However, once you get to the top of Phu Kradueng, you will find it is a large plateau. That means you have a large space to explore at the top, including restaurants and cafes to sit and enjoy the cold in. Find out more details in our All You Need to Know About Phu Kradueng post.
Both of them are very cold at the top. But even with the better view from Phu Ruea peak, we have to give it to Phu Kradueng for the wow factor. After so many hours of hiking, reaching the top really feels amazing! The feeling of conquering such an intense climb is wonderful. If you have kids who cannot walk, then we would say Phu Ruea is the one for you.
Of course, if you have the time, we recommend doing both!
Around the Area Beyond the Park
We love visiting Phu Ruea National Park. But adding in activities in the area really added to our experience.
Strawberry picking in the cool season is a hit with the kids. And December gets really fun when you add in a stop at the Christmas Tree Festival – really just an amazing display of poinsettias that will awe you!
Our favorite cafe in the area is Love เลย Coffee (In English it’s ‘Love Loei Coffee’). Their food is Thai and western. They have a great outdoor area for kids to play and explore. Their drink menu is huge. It is always a hit for the whole family!
If you are looking at a full trip to Loei, we’ve got you covered. Another viewpoint we love that is just 1.5 hours away is the Chiang Khan Skywalk. It overlooks the Mekong river and Laos countryside. And honestly, if you’re kids are 6 or older and you are seeking real Loei adventure, we cannot recommend Phu Kradueng enough!
Accommodations Outside the Park
The national park is an easy trip to do for the day, so if you are looking to stay in town and not overnight at the park, there are some great options.
Due to Phu Ruea’s popularity with Thais in the cool season, many cute boutique hotels line the highway in and out of town. They do fill up quickly in the cold month, so make sure you book ahead. In the off-season months, you will not have trouble finding accommodations.
Phuruakeere Resort is only 7 km away from the park entrance, and it take about 10 minutes to get into the park. It is also only 700 meters down the road from Love เลย Coffee which we mentioned above. This resort offers family villas that have a great garden view and can hold up to 4 (5 if one is young). The villas are up on stilts and breakfast in included. Expect prices from $150-200 USD per night.
Phuruarounmai Organic Living Resort
Phuruarounmai Organic Living Resort is a fun stay with kids as the walkways and rooms are over rice fields. It is also conveniently located just around 5 minutes from the park entrance this is a great spot to enjoy the Loei countryside. Rooms that can fit up to 8 people make this a great option for families. Expect prices to range from $55 for smaller rooms up to $140 USD for large rooms per night.