Sipo Waterfall

         The area is home to  a complex of high mountains which run north to south and have steep slopes with some flat areas. The highest peak in the national park area is Khao Mae Tae peak, north of La Lo Sub-district, Rueso District, Narathiwat Province, and south of Du Song Yo Sub-district, Cha Nai District, Narathiwat Province, east to Chaloem Sub-district, Ka Li SaS ub-district Rangae District and west to Ta Ma Yung, Sa Ko, Si Banphot and Choeng Khiri Sub-district, Si Sakhon District in Narathiwat Province.

          Namtok Sipo National Park has an average elevation of about 600 meters above the sea level. It is located around Pa Chopeak. 80% of the area is 250-500 meters high, with gradient of 40-60% (maximum 60%). Most area has gradient of 35-60%, covering 80% of the area.

          The main catchment area of the Namtok Si Po National Park is the Sai Buri Basin. The watershed quality classification in Namtok Si Po National Park consisted mainly of watershed class 1A, representing 39.89% followed by watershed class 2, which cover 24.34%.

           The canals around the Namtok Sipo National Park is primarily short canals flowing east and west. They include Ai Sa To Canal, Chi Po Canal, Ku Ching Lue Pa Canal, Mae Chae Canal, Ka Yae Canal, Namhom Canal, Hu Lu Ku Nung Canal, Tue Ngo Canal, Ai Kue No Canal, Ai Sue Do Canal, Da Yong Canal, and Ta Mung Canal. The watershed extends from Sanpannam to the Mo Tae Mountain range, which flows into the Bang Nara River and the Sai Buri River. Other important surface waters nearby Namtok Sipo National Park include the Tamung Reservoir, Kuching Sue Pa Reservoir and Ban Pa Se Reservoir. There is one sub-basin located in Namtok

         Sipo National Park. The average monthly rainfall over a period of 30 years is 206.075 millimeters.

     Narathiwat Province has a tropical monsoon climate with two main seasons; the rainy season runs from June to January, and the summer or dry season iss from February to May. The average annual rainfall is 2,300 millimeters per year, with an  average temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, and the average relative humidity of 86.28%.

/7/ Forests and Wildlife

The forest condition of Namtok Sipo National Park is a tropical  rain forest with large trees in the upper forest in the mountain range which is lush all year round. The essential types of wood are Malacca Teak, Dipterocarpus, Hopea odorata Roxb., and various types of Malabar Iron Wood.

   Because the area is a tropical rain forest with rain all year, many different kinds of wild animals live there in large numbers. These include Monkeys, Langurs, Indian Muntjac, Mouse Deer, Wild Deer, Porcupine, Slow Loris, Musk, giant squirrels, hornbills, Myna shikra, Falco, and Eudynamys scolopaceus. There are also many plants in the fertile forest which has moist soil. The predominant, economically valuable plant species in the tropical rain forest include Dipterocarpaceae such as Ditero capparaceae and Neobalanocarpus heimii, Shorea ovata Dyer ex Brandis, Malacca Teak, Dipterocarpus alatus, Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (Blanco), Palmae, Calameae, various betel nuts, Licuala spinosa Thunb, ferns, Cyathea podophylla., False Sago, and Platycerium holttum In addition, the Grammatophyllum speciosum Blume,  from the orchid family, is found in the area.

The higher areas of the tropical rain forest are home to wild elephants, wild boars, Mouse Deer, porcupines, Langurs, Crab-Eating Macaques, Pig-Tailed Macaques, and reptiles such as snakes and turtles.

        Almost all the bird species found are endemic and include the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo,  Asian Fairy Bluebird, Leaf Bird, Drongo Strigiformes, Short-Eared Owl, Great Argus, White-Rumped Shama, Chinese Francolin, Oriole, and Red Junglefowl. There are t species of hornbills, including the White-Crowned Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, and Wrinkled Hornbill. Hornbills are important as they are an indicator species for the health of a forest.