Anurak Community Lodge, an award-winning ecotourism experience in southern Thailand, has fully reopened following two years of Covid-related uncertainty.
The 19-unit nature retreat, which won the PATA Grand Award for Sustainability in 2020, and is Travelife Gold certified, officially reopens on 1 August with room enhancements, a refreshed food, and beverage menu – including southern ‘jungle’ dinners – and new guest activities, such as hiking the Anurak Trail, cycling, and guest participation in the ecolodge’s ‘Rainforest Rising’ reforestation project.
“Our new focus on reopening is to make Anurak Lodge a fully functioning basecamp for quality ecotourism experiences in the area,” says Christopher Cribbs, manager of the lodge which offers memorable views of adjacent and mountainous Khao Sok National Park.
Guests can pay THB300 (US$8) to plant indigenous tree saplings as part of Anurak’s Rainforest Rising project, which was created by Chiang Mai University’s Forest Restoration and Research Unit. The project is supported by Khao Sok National Park authorities. The aim is to foster plant life diversity to encourage pollination and feeding by insects, birds, and mammals such as civets and badgers.
For its reopening, Anurak has also signposted the Anurak Trail, a one-kilometer circular hike starting and finishing at the lodge. It takes around 45 minutes to complete and passes massive fig trees, bamboo, and vine groves. The path enters a small cave and finishes with a walk through coffee and rubber plantations.
On food and beverage, Anurak’s new menu draws inspiration from local southern Thai traditions. It includes dishes such as yellow fish curry (pla tuptim), stir-fried pork with yellow curry paste (kua kling moo), shrimp paste sauce with vegetables and fried egg, and fish (nam prik kapi), chicken soup with turmeric (gai tom kamin), and spicy vegetable salad (yam puk kut).
“Many of our guests at Anurak are passionate about experimenting with local flavors,” says Cribbs. “It’s a big part of the southern Thailand destination experience.”
Trips to Anurak Lodge in Khao Sok are often combined with visits to beach destinations such as Khao Lak, Krabi, Koh Samui, and Phuket, all of which are relatively close by.
How to get there:
Located a 75-minute drive from Surat Thani airport, 2 hrs 30 mins from Phuket airport, and 2 hrs from Krabi airport.
Anurak Community Lodge is an award-winning eco-retreat for active lifestyle visitors who respect nature and local community traditions. The 19-key lodge offers Deluxe Green Double, Eco Double, and Eco Twin options, plus one Superior Safari Tent. Surrounded by spectacular limestone karst scenery, the lodge is an ideal base to explore adjacent Khao Sok National Park and majestic Chiew Larn Lake. Anurak Community Lodge is Travelife Gold Certified.
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