Tak ตาก | |
|---|---|
 Ping River in Tak  Taksin Maharat National Park Sea of Mist | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto(s): ธรรมชาติน่ายล ภูมิพลเขื่อนใหญ่ พระเจ้าตากเกรียงไกร เมืองไม้และป่างาม ("Nature worth seeing. The massive Bhumibol Dam. Brave King Taksin. The city of beautiful woods and forests.") | |
 Map of Thailand highlighting Tak province | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Region | Lower northern |
| Capital | Tak |
| Largest City | Mae Sot |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Chucheep Pongchai |
| • PAO President | Atchara Thaweekueakulkit (BJT) |
| Area | |
• Total | 17,303 km2 (6,681 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 4th |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total |  698,597 |
| • Rank | 39th |
| • Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 75th |
| Human Achievement Index | |
| • HAI (2022) | 0.6229 "low" Ranked 65th |
| GDP | |
| • Total | baht 48 billion (US$1.7 billion) (2019) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Postal code | 63xxx |
| Calling code | 055 |
| ISO 3166 code | TH-63 |
| Website | tak |
Tak (Thai:ตาก,pronounced[tàːk]) is one of Thailand's seventy-sevenprovinces (changwat) and lies inlower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise)Mae Hong Son,Chiang Mai,Lamphun,Lampang,Sukhothai,Kamphaeng Phet,Nakhon Sawan,Uthai Thani andKanchanaburi. The western edge of the province has a long boundary withKayin State of Myanmar (Burma).
TheBhumibol Dam (named afterKing Bhumibol Adulyadej, the old name wasYanhee Dam) is in Khao KaewTambon (sub-district),Sam Ngao District of Tak and was built from 1958 to 1964.[5] It stops theriver Ping, one of the two sources of theChao Phraya River.[6][7][8] The artificial lake created covers an area of 300 km2 and is the largest in Thailand.Taksin Maharat National Park,Namtok Pha Charoen National Park,Lan Sang National Park, andKhun Phawo National Parks are all in the province.Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary shares half of the lake front with Kanchanaburi andHuai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary at the border with Uthai Thani and areWorld Heritage Sites.[9][10]
On the western side of Tak province theTenasserim Hills meet theDawna Range. One of the few transnational roads and cross-border points intoMyanmar is atMae Sot. Northwest of Mae Sot the main road on the Thai side skirts the border until it turns straight north towardsMae Hong Son.
Tak province occupies 17,303 km2 (6,681 sq mi) and lies 426 km north of Bangkok. The total forest area is 12,455 km2 (4,809 sq mi) or 72 percent of provincial area.[1]
Four national parks and two national parks (preparation), along with two other national parks, make upregion 14 (Tak) of Thailand's protected areas.
There area a total of five wildlife sanctuaries, four of which are inregion 14 (Tak), but Tham Chao Ram is not in Tak province and Omkoi is inregion 16 (Chiang Mai) of Thailand's protected areas.
Tak was a historical kingdom built over 2,000 years ago, even before theSukhothai period. The ancient kingdom had its peak around the 1st century. By the 5th century the capital of this kingdom was moved south to Lavo (present dayLopburi province). A city namedBan Tak was established byJamadevi (พระนางจามเทวี), princess of the Lavo kingdom, around 663 CE. It became part of theSukhothai kingdom through battles led byRamkhamhaeng the Great and formed the main fortress on the western front. The city was moved further west and renamedMueang Rahang when theAyuthaya kingdom was lost toBurma duringKing Maha Thammaracha's reign. The city was moved back to the east side of thePing River during the earlyBangkok period.[14]
KingTaksin was vice-governor of Tak before the Ayutthaya kingdom fell during the war with Burma. As his name wasSin, he became calledTak-Sin during his time in Tak.[15]
About a quarter of the population belongs to one of Thailand's tribehill tribes:Yao,Karen (ThaiKariang),Akha (ThaiAkha),Lahu (ThaiMusoe),Hmong (ThaiMong), andLisu (ThaiLisaw).[16] The largest tribe in Tak is Karen.[17]
According to theUNHCR data of 2008, nearly 95,000 of Thailand's 121,000 registeredrefugees fromBurma are housed in several refugee camps in Tak province of whichMae La camp is the largest with around 45,000Karen refugees.[18]
The province is divided into nine districts (amphoes). These are further divided into 63 subdistricts (tambons) and 493 villages (mubans).
As of 26 November 2019 there are:[19] one Tak Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 19 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Mae Sot has city (thesaban nakhon) status. Tak has town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 17 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 49 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).
Theprovincial seal shows KingNaresuan on the royal elephant.[20] Sometimes below the elephant agaruda is depicted, as the garuda is the state symbol of Thailand. King Naresuan is shown pouring consecrated water on the ground, a symbolic act to declare independence. This refers to the war of 1584 withBurma, when Tak was the first border town to be liberated from Burmese control.
The provincial slogan is, "A town of wonderful nature, huge Bhumiphol Dam, King Taksin The Great and beautiful forests".[20]
Theprovincial tree is theAsian Jatoba (Xylia xylocarpa var.kerrii), and the provincial flower is the Orchid tree (Bauhinia sp.). The cyprinid fishHypsibarbus malcolmi is the provincial aquatic life.
There are two main public hospitals in Tak:Somdejphrajaotaksin Maharaj Hospital and Mae Sot Hospital, both operated by theMinistry of Public Health.
Agriculture is a major part of the Tak economy. The province of Tak producesrice,corn,vegetables,fruits,beef,tilapia, and other foods. Industries in Tak includegranite quarrying andjewelry. Zinc mining was formerly conducted inMae Sot District.[21]
Handicrafts andMyanmar products are also important for trade. TheBhumibol Dam in the northern part of Tak is its most popular tourist attraction. Tourism, especiallyecotourism, in the southern part is seasonal with popular destinations such as theThi Lo Su Waterfall, Thi Lo Le Waterfall,hiking andwhite water rafting in its various forest reserves. Tak is also known for itsLoi Krathong festival wherekrathong sai (กระทงสาย) consisting of many krathongs are floated in a long line down the river.[22] The Loi Krathong festival is held on thePing River inMueang Tak District on Loi Krathong night.
Tak is a key communication and transportation centre of the north, with threeAsian highways passing through the province.AH1 enters through the Myanmar-Thai border atMae Sot District[23]AH2 passes through the province from north to south. AlsoAH16 terminates at Tak.
Tak province is served byTak Airport.
| Health | Education | Employment | Income |
 |  |  |  |
| 67 | 74 | 8 | 68 |
| Housing | Family | Transport | Participation |
 |  |  | .png) |
| 2 | 2 | 76 | 49 |
| Province Tak, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6229 is "low", occupies place 65 in the ranking. | |||
Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using theHuman achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]
| Rank | Classification |
| 1–13 | "High" |
| 14–29 | "Somewhat high" |
| 30–45 | "Average" |
| 46–61 | "Somewhat low" |
| 62–77 | "Low" |
| Map with provinces and HAI 2022 rankings |
 |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)16 Tak: 1 PAO, 1 City mun., 1 Town mun., 17 Subdistrict mun., 49 SAO.
Tak travel guide from Wikivoyage
Places adjacent to Tak province | |
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| National | |
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16°53′2″N99°07′30″E / 16.88389°N 99.12500°E /16.88389; 99.12500
