Treasures Of Isan - The Three Whale Rock
Far in the northeast of Thailand is a very unusual sight. Three stone whales surf out of a forest hilltop, their enormous bodies shaped from red-brown rock. Visitors from all over Thailand come to climb the mountain and see this petrified pod of whale shaped stone. With gorgeous views out over the Isan countryside and incredible rock formations, the Three Whale Rock is a completely unique experience.
The Three Whale Rock is found in the Bueng Kan province of Isan in northeast Thailand. This area is traditionally overlooked by Western tourists, but is full of unexpected treasures to find. Come with us as we explore the Three Whale Rock and hopefully convince you to come off the tourist trail and explore a piece of Isan.
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It’s not everyday you get to take a photo from the enormous back of a whale!
What Is The Three Whale Rock?
The Three Whales Rock (AKA The Three Whale Rock - although this sounds odd to us) is a geological feature found in the Bueng Kan province in Isan, deep in the northeastern corner of Thailand.
As the name suggests, the Three Whale Rock gets its name from its uncanny resemblance to a family pod of whales. There are, as you might guess, three stone whales; the largest is known as the “father”, with the “mother” next to him and the smaller “child” in tow next to her. The rocky whales burst out of the thick jungle as if they are crashing out of the breaking green surf.
The Three Whale Rock is part of the Him Sam Wan Recreation Forest Park. It’s name literally translates to Rock (Him), Three (Sam), Whale (Wan) - it’s Thai spelling is หินสามวาฬ. The park is more than just the Three Whales Rock, there are other caves, viewpoints and rock formations to visit in the park.
The above may explain what the Three Whale Rock is, but it really can’t convey the sheer scale of the geological wonder. Read on for our day out at Him Sam Wan Recreation Forest Park.
Our Day Visiting The Three Whale Rock
We had a complicated start to our day. We were staying in the small but charming town of Bueng Kan (read all about it here). It was a day away from the Thai festival of Loy Krathong and we just couldn’t find a scooter to rent anywhere in town. We had tried dealerships, asked in cafes, repair shops and anywhere else we could think of. Western tourists aren’t too common in Bueng Kan and all the Thai tourists had their own cars. We were running out of options.
Luckily for us, we were talking about our issues with the lovely staff at the Wisdom Residence Hotel where we were staying. The lady at reception knew a man who knew a man, who turned out to have the last scooter for rent in town!
We soon had our wheels, a Honda Click that looked older than us, but it fired up on the first try and the brakes worked just fine. We had our transport.
The road to the Three Whales Rock was an easy drive. Most of the way was down the main road linking the Mekong-side towns and cities of Isan. It took us around half an hour to reach the car-park of the Three Whale Rock. See later on for more detailed directions.
We had read about the Three Whales Rock online and we had watched it on YouTube. What we hadn’t seen or read about was the huge car-park and entrance area. Just because it's relatively unknown to Western tourists, doesn’t mean it’s not famous amongst the Thai’s. We had arrived around 11am and the car-park was filling up fast.
It’s technically possible to walk to the top of the Three Whale Rock, however when we arrived, we were strongly advised not to do this. A 6KM hike up a mountain road in the 35+ degree Thai heat didn’t sound fun! We opted for the lazy, jeep option.
We grabbed our tickets and hopped in the flat-bed back of a pick-up-truck and headed up. As soon as we left the car-park we could see why they had advised us from walking. A narrow road rose nearly vertically up, winding around sharp bends into the forests of the mountain.
The entrance ticket included stops at more than just the Three Whale Rock. Our “mini tour” would take us past the Elephants Rock, the Hermit’s Cave, the Dharma Courtyard as well as multiple viewpoints.
First stop though was the Dharma Courtyard. We hopped out of the pick-up and found ourselves looking at a golden seated Buddha sitting next to an enormous cliff of rock, shaped uncannily like a cat in mid-stretch. This shrine is where Buddhist visitors come to leave offerings, pray and burn incense. We were shown around the side, where another tiny shrine sat in a natural hollow in the rock, looking out over the green trees and view below. It was our first glimpse of the vistas on offer and even though we were less than half way up the mountain, we could see it was going to be an impressive day.
Once your eyes adjust, the rock on the right really does look like a sitting cat!
Back in the pick-up we resumed our bouncy roller coaster up the mountain, our driver hanging out the window to point out more rocks that apparently looked like other animals, some of these were obvious but some of them required leaps of imagination that our eyeballs weren’t prepared to make. It was now time for our rocky animal safari to be taken to the next level - as we pulled up to the crest of the mountain, it was time to see some whales!
Once more on foot, we headed through an avenue of trees, bamboo and fern, their branches and leaves knotting overhead to create an arch. The dirt turned to stone underfoot, the trees dropped away and suddenly we were walking on the spine of a whale.
It’s so hard to describe this place, it really is like a family of whales poking out through the Thai forest. We were standing on “Daddy Whale’s” back, with “Mummy” and the “Baby” whale off to one side. The rocky whales are three jutting cliffs that reach out like stone fingers out of the side of the mountain. On three sides, sheer drops greeted us and in front and all around was the view.
Isan spread out in front of us like a patchwork carpet unrolling to the horizon. Bueng Kan is mostly flat (except for Wat Phu Tok - read more about that here), so standing on the top of the Three Whales felt like standing at the tip of a lonely skyscraper. The land spread out all around us, jade forests and fields stretching out and the mountains in the horizon fading to blue..
We headed right to the tip of Daddy whale’s nose, taking the obligatory selfies and just drinking in the incredible landscape. We moved over to Mummy whale and looked back at the sheer bulk of the rock formation. Whale is an appropriate name not just in shape but in sheer scale!
As we’ve said before, the rock formations are relatively unknown to Western tourists, but they are very popular with Thai tourists. The air was filled with the sound of drones and Ellie was constantly being pulled in to take photos or pose for selfies (John can’t understand why he wasn’t invited). It’s always great fun to meet Thai’s on holiday, it feels like they’re living life to the fullest, no matter what age they are, they always seem like they’re having a great time.
Speaking of which …
We didn’t expect Harry Potter brooms on the top of the Three Whale Rock but this is Thailand and you really can’t predict anything! To the left of the Three Whale Rock car-park is another flat rock with a stunning view. It also has the perfect curve whereby a photographer can crouch down and a (often incredibly enthusiastic) subject can jump on a broomstick and have a “flying” photo. We don’t know why it tickled us so much but large groups of grannies bunny hopping with broomsticks wasn’t how we pictured our day!
We never said we were above some broom-based buffoonery!
The views from this rock (even without the brooms) were amazing and definitely worth investigating even if you don’t fancy a broomstick ride.
Back in the pick-up truck we sped down the mountain, careening through towering corridors of stone and rock. We pulled over at more incredible rock formations - the well-named Elephant Rock as well as a sweeping viewpoint, pot marked with rain created craters that looked like stony Swiss cheese. A particularly amazing scenic spot was a narrow boulder and platform sandwiched between two enormous cliff-faces, in a day full of amazing viewpoints, this was yet another highlight!
The ‘Elephant Rock’ could equally be the ‘Armadillo Rock’ in our opinion!
Our driver barrelled down the last of the mountain and delivered safely back to the car-park. It had been an incredible experience.
Unfortunately for us, when we got back to our scooter, we found it sitting in a spreading puddle of petrol. Like an elderly dog, it looked ashamed of the mess it had made. It was going to be a long way home!
One of the joys of Thailand are its people. After our bike came over all incontinent and wee’d out all its petrol in the car-park, a group of Park Rangers descended like superheroes to help us out. Within moments our bike had been stripped down, impromptu fuel lined fashioned and scraps of wire secured in place - our bike had been fixed enough to limp home! We just wanted to say thanks to the amazing staff and Park Rangers of the Him Sam Wan Recreation Forest Park! It would have been a long walk home without them.
Essential Information For Visiting The Three Whale Rock
Where Is The Three Whale Rock
The Three Whale Rock can be found here on Google Maps. The car and motorbike parking as well as the ticket counter, coffee shops, restaurants and toilets can be found here.
The Three Whale Rock sits in the Bueng Kan province of Isan in northeast Thailand around 720 KM away from Bangkok. The nearest towns and cities to the Three Whale Rock are:
Bueng Kan town (24 KM away) - 30 minutes drive - this is where we stayed, check out our guide here.
Sakhon Nakhon (160 KM away) 2.5 hours to 3 hours drive.
Nong Khai (160 KM away) just over 2 hours drive
Nakhon Phanom (170 KM away) just over 2 hours drive on the main road.
Isan is a very flat region so when you get a viewpoint like the Three Whales it’s really something special!
How To Get To The Three Whale Rock
The easiest way to get to the Three Whale Rock is from Bueng Kan town. If you come from Nong Khai you have to drive through Bueng Kan to get here anyway.
Bueng Kan is a great little town and a fantastic jumping off point for some of the lesser known treasures of the region. Make sure you read our guide to the town here.
We’d highly recommend seeking out your own set of wheels, it should be possible to rent through your accommodation and hopefully you won’t get a bike like ours. In their defence we had got the last bike in town as it was the Loy Krathong Festival!
Broomstick travel is not advised!
If you cannot ride a motorbike and want to arrange a taxi to take you, speak to your accommodation or head to Bueng Kan’s Bus Station and speak with the tuk tuk and taxi drivers there.
As soon as we got off our bus at Bueng Kan a lovely man introduced himself to us and gave us his number. We actually took him up on his offer the day after the Three Whales as our bike couldn’t be fixed and we wanted to visit Wat Phu Tok. We paid 1500 baht for a full day's air-conditioned taxi which we feel, despite the circumstances, was a good deal.
If you’re organising a taxi you could even try and fit both the Three Whale Rock and Wat Phu Tock into a single action packed day.
For those driving themselves, it’s easy to get to the Three Whale Rock. You need to get to road 3007 which is just off of the main route 212 that goes along the Mekong from Nong Khai to Bueng Kan and onwards all the way to Nakhon Phanom. If you’re coming from inland, then you’ll still need road 3007, but you might be able to get to it from route 222. All the roads are paved and in good condition.
It was free to park our scooter in the Three Whale Rock car-park.
Opening Times And Entrance Fees
The Three Whale Rock is open everyday from 5AM until 5PM. It can get very busy during holidays, festivals and weekends.
Everywhere there are hidden secrets and shrines!
Entry to the Him Sam Wan Recreation Forest Park costs 100 baht per person. You will also need to pay 500 baht to rent a jeep and driver to take you to the top of the mountain. The jeep is plenty big enough for a family.
If you’re going by yourself it's possible to join another group in a jeep and split the cost.
Vertigo And Safety
The whales and viewpoints are very very high up. The drops are massive and there are no handrails. That being said, the platforms (whales backs) are huge and you do not have to go near any of the cliff edges. There are marked out “Safety Zones” on the whales to keep you from going too close to the edge.
The Three Whale Rock is very high up!
Facilities At The Three Whales Rock
There are toilets at the base of the rock as well as at the top near the Three Whale Rock viewpoint.
If you want food or drink, there’s plenty of street food stalls and sit down eateries around the car-park at the base. There is also a gloriously air-conditioned coffee shop on site!
On the left is the “baby” of the family - he’s a little too small to walk on though!
Conclusion - An Unknown Isan Treasure
Thailand never ceases to amaze us. The landscapes are phenomenal and endlessly varied. This little known corner of Isan is an undisputed jewel. Right now, very few Westerners are making the journey to Bueng Kan and the Three Whale Rock, we can’t imagine this will be the case forever as it is simply too beautiful. If you’re in the area don’t miss it. If you’re not in the area, hopefully this will inspire you to head northeast and explore some of Isan’s hidden treasures!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
Check Our Our Other Bueng Kan Guides Below:
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