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Khao Sok sits in the interior of southern Thailand, in Surat Thani province, and it is one of the oldest rainforests on the planet. Scientists estimate the forest here is around 160 million years old, predating both the Amazon and the Congo Basin, which gives the landscape a quality that photographs rarely capture honestly. Limestone karst towers rise from the jungle canopy and from the surface of Cheow Lan Lake, a vast reservoir created in 1982 when the Ratchaprapa Dam was built across the Pasaeng River. The result is a body of water studded with sheer rock formations draped in vegetation, a scene that has drawn comparisons to Guilin in China and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, though Khao Sok has its own distinct atmosphere shaped by the surrounding national park.

The national park itself was established in 1980 and covers nearly 740 square kilometres of protected land. Within it, wildlife that has disappeared from much of Southeast Asia still moves through the forest: Malayan tapirs, gibbons, hornbills, and the occasional clouded leopard. The Rafflesia kerrii, one of the world's largest flowers, blooms here in certain seasons, though its appearance is unpredictable and cannot be guaranteed on any given visit. The village of Khao Sok, a loose arrangement of guesthouses and restaurants along the main road near the park entrance, serves as the practical base for most visitors. It is small and unhurried, and the forest begins almost immediately at its edges.