Bueng Boraphet

The lake is a permanent water body by design. Hugh M. Smith, the American fisheries adviser of Rama VI's reign, dated his survey report 20 February 1923 and proposed an embankment to hold water year-round. On 22 November 1926 King Rama VII ordered an embankment, sluice gate and fish-breeding station, and in 1927 the Bueng Boraphet fisheries station opened — which the Fisheries Department calls Thailand's first freshwater fisheries station. The embankment was finished in 1928, and in 1930 the Ministry of Finance declared a reserve holding water at 23.80 m above sea level over about 250,000 rai. The name is said to come from the boraphet vine that once grew here and had vanished by 1958.

A royal decree of 4 August 1937 released part of the reserve, leaving 132,737 rai — about 212 km², the figure most Thai sources use. In 1947 the lake was split into two fishery zones, and in 1975 the Royal Forest Department declared a 66,250-rai (about 106 km²) non-hunting area. In 2000 the government listed it as a wetland of international importance, but it is not a Ramsar site; the nomination was still being prepared in early 2026. Capacity is about 234.77 million m³ and average depth about 1.6 m.

More than 190 bird species have been recorded, over 100 of them waterbirds, and counts often top 20,000 birds — black-winged stilts, Asian openbills, glossy ibises and garganey among the commonest. Kitti Thonglongya collected nine white-eyed river martins (Pseudochelidon sirintarae) here on 28–29 January and 10 February 1968, a bird known nowhere else on Earth; two went to Dusit Zoo in 1971. The last confirmed sighting was six birds on 3 February 1978 — reports from 1980 and 1986 are unconfirmed — and it may be extinct. The Siamese tiger perch was once the lake's emblem, and Siamese crocodiles still live here — more than 30 were counted in 2023. On 1 September 2026 the Royal Gazette listed the red-whiskered bulbul as protected in 40 non-hunting areas, including this one.

There are two main visitor areas. The Bueng Boraphet aquarium and visitor centre in Khwae Yai, a boat-shaped building, shows over 100 freshwater species with a 24 m tunnel. The bird park on Rural Road 4066 in Phra Non has boardwalks and towers and is where you hire a long-tail boat for about an hour, passing Ko Lat, a key birding spot. Villagers of Rang Bua in Tha Tako also run boats to the red-lotus field in December–January.

The lake is free; one source gives hours of 08:30–18:00. The aquarium once charged 30/20 baht, but recent reviews say it is free, so check on site. Boats cost about 600 baht per boat per hour, about five people per small boat. November–March is best for migrant birds, birding is best 06:00–09:00 and lotuses open around 07:00. From town take Highway 225 or 3001, about 10–20 km. Watch for crocodiles near paths and roads. A royal-initiative development project in 2025–26 plans a new pier, reception centre and cycle lane.