'San Nok Wua' - The Bulls' Horns.
It's possible to get here by public transport by taking a bus from Mochit or Sai Tai Mai to Kanchanaburi (more frequent bus departures from Sai Tai Mai; every 30 minutes or so. Mochit only has 2 daily buses). Then another bus to Sangklaburi, getting off the bus at Khao Laem National Park Headquarters. I think the Mochit buses might be direct to Sangklaburi.
Whether going by bus or car you'll need a minimum of 2 days (more likely 3) because it's a long way from Bangkok (or wherever else you might be coming from).
In the general area there are a couple of waterfalls and 35km away is Sangklaburi which has the Mon Bridge. Pom Pee campsite is 1km from HQ and has great views across the lake.
This trek is similar to Chang Puak and Chiang Dao treks, in that you need to register in advance and there is some bureaucracy to undertake before you can walk anywhere. It would be difficult to organise if you cannot speak Thai and do not have a Thai friend to organise it for you. I have read that this trek is available all year round but I believe it is only walked Thursday-Sunday and they will not do day hikes; you need to stay overnight on the mountain (camping). It should be possible to rent tent and sleeping equipment from National Park HQ if you don't have your own, and I have read you can order food to be cooked for you for the climb up the mountain. But you would still need to take your own food for the evening meal and next morning's breakfast. Apparently there is a water source near the top of the mountain but I didn't look for it. There are only a couple of streams crossing the actual trail and both these are near the start.
Water is clear. You can see a directional sign at stream crossing at the top of photo.
Costs:
- Camping fee 30 baht per person (60 baht if you sleep at Pom Pee Campsite the night before).
- National Park Fee 200 baht (for foreign adult)
- Transportation from HQ to trailhead 1000 baht (per car/group not per person). It's 7.5km and the price includes the return journey.
- Guide cost 1000 baht (per group of max 7 people)
- Porter cost 1400 baht (maximum 30kg). Obviously you don't need to pay for the porter if you carry your own stuff.
There are lots of trip reports on sites like readme.me and trippacker.com from Thais who have walked it, just search Google. But none of them have the GPS track or trailhead coordinates. Here is one of the best and also includes the phone number to call to book:
readme.me/p/7729
I try to do write-ups which include gps tracks so people have the option to do the trail independently, but some trails are not advisable to be walked without permission/a guide for various reasons and I think this is probably one. Reasons being a.) there are up to 20 tigers in this park - the guides carry guns. b.) The road to trailhead is gated some of the time because the road leads to a military radar station. c.) There is nowhere to park at trailhead (other than an electrical shed 100m before) and a bike or car left by side of road might draw attention.
In my experience (I've only been twice) the gate is opened 9am-ish and not closed again until late afternoon. There is nobody actively policing the gate i.e. it seems private vehicles can come and go as they please (and indeed a Google Streetview car has been up here), and would only be turned around upon reaching the military base at the top. The trailhead is well before that base... But, tigers.
The road to trailhead essentially puts you 6km inside the forest, which is already quite deep, and then the walk penetrates another 8km.
The forest is generally bamboo. There are some leeches on the trail in rainy season but not as many as places like Khao Yai. Leeches are worse in morning, in the afternoon they seek cover away from the trail as it dries out/warms up. The trail is marked throughout with arrows and resting points every now and again. Some steep sections are roped.
GPS track (see warning above) and elevation map:
The actual height of the point where the sign is is 1605m. The actual height of the place that everybody takes photos at and finishes the walk at is 1630m. The highest possible point is a little further at 1652m. Assuming the GPS and Google Maps are accurate that's considerably less than the sign suggests (1767m).