Ele­phants are revered in Thai­land, and stat­ues and paint­ings of them can be seen every­where you go, includ­ing the roy­al palaces and many tem­ples. For the ulti­mate expe­ri­ence, how­ev­er, noth­ing beats the chance to see ele­phants in their nat­ur­al envi­ron­­ment-and Khao Yai Nation­al Park pro­vides a great oppor­tu­ni­ty to do just that. Here, you’ll run into ele­phants roam­ing near rivers, exot­ic birds of prey, mon­keys, and plen­ty of oth­er trop­i­cal crea­tures that call the park home. The park is also home to many water­falls, includ­ing the 150-meter-tall Haew Narok and the even more famous Haew Suwat, which appeared in the Leonar­do DiCapri­o’s film, The Beach.