During the cold season, the mountains of Phu Lom Lo in Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park in Loei turn pink due to the blossoming of wild Himalayan cherry trees known in Thai as phaya suea khrong.
Phu Lom Lo was once a mountainous grassland without a single tree. However, in 2008, Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park chief Mano Manoonsaran initiated a project to reforest the area. The chief chose to grow wild Himalayan cherry trees and the reforestation process started in 2009.
Within three years, the trees started to bloom making the entire mountain pink. It was a natural beauty that no one had ever seen before and soon the villagers in Ban Rong Kla and Ban Kok Sathon wanted to promote the phenomenon as an ecotourism destination, the Jakarta Post website reported.
In 2014, the villages started to promote the phenomenon at Phu Lom Lo and it did not take long before word spread that Phu Lom Lo is the largest wild Himalayan cherry plantation in Thailand. Some Thais call the pink flower sakura or Japanese cherry blossom, although it is a different species.
The blossoming of phaya suea khrong normally takes place from mid-January to mid-February but this year the bloom has already begun and the villagers are hoping it lasts until Valentine's Day.
