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Welcome to Island Hopping in the Andaman Sea of Thailand
Rainforest Trekking
The last patch of lowland rain forest in Thailand is located in the centre of the region. The forest is located opposite of Lanta Island on the mainland and about 25 kilometres away from Klong Thom. It is the the only place in the world where birds of the species 'Pitta's Gurney', know in Thai as Taew Raew Thong Dam, have been found.
A nature trail of 2.7 kilometres in length has been established and leads through the forest showing the exciting bio-diversity of this region. At the end you can swim in the clear water of the "Emerald Pool". Tropical rain forest is the scientific term for a specific type of ecosystem which includes a unique range of plant and animal species. This is in direct contrast to a jungle which has no similar system of organization. Southeast Asian rain forests date back as far as 60 million years.
No other ecosystem on earth is as rich in variety of flora and fauna. Up to 250 different species of trees can be found in a hectare of virgin rain forest, as opposed to European mixed forest, in which one may find perhaps twelve different species.
Worldwide, tropical rain forests are home to more than 3,000 different species of trees, many as yet, unnamed and undocumented. The same wide variety of species also applies to the animal kingdom. Most of the life exists in the canopy of the trees, as high as 40 metres or more above the forest floor. In the past, tropical rain forests covered much of the globe. Today, however, most have disappeared. Scientists are concerned that this could have an effect on global climate. As recently as fifty years ago, about 65% of Thailand was covered by virgin tropical rain forest. Today, that figure is around 10% with most of the remaining rain forest existing in the highlands of the north.
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