Benjakitti Forest Park Orienteering Club

Find your way through Benjakitti.

A free, non-profit orienteering club in the middle of Bangkok. Learn to read a map and compass, then put it to work across 72 hectares of forest park.

Join the club What is orienteering?
Four club members with maps and compasses in front of club banners in Benjakitti Forest Park

What is orienteering?

You get a map of the park and a compass. Checkpoints have been placed around the park and marked on your map. Your job is to find them in order, choosing your own route between them, on foot or at a run.

It's a sport that teaches map reading and navigation while keeping you moving. It's popular around the world and already has a home in Thailand through the Thailand Orienteering Federation.

It also works well in teams, so it builds cooperation, concentration and confidence, and gives kids a safe, healthy way to spend a Saturday.

A club member holding a map board and compass next to a red checkpoint marker
A club member kneeling to record a visit at a checkpoint marker on a tree

Who it's for

  • Complete beginnersNo experience needed. Every class starts with how to use the map and compass.
  • Families and kidsAll ages and fitness levels. Parents and children can do a course together as a team.
  • Students and schoolsA great team activity for Thai and international school students.
  • Runners and walkersRace it in a tournament or take your time. Thais, expats and visitors are all welcome.

The park is the course

Since its extension in 2022, Benjakitti Forest Park covers 72 hectares of grass, trees, lakes, wetlands and elevated walkways. We're setting up a permanent course of checkpoints across the park, away from the wetlands, that members can use in classes, in tournaments or on their own at any time.

Aerial view of Benjakitti Forest Park with its lake and the Bangkok skyline behind
Plan of Benjakitti Forest Park showing its paths, lakes and buildings
An example course on the park plan: start at the triangle, visit checkpoints 1 to 7 in order, finish at the double circle.
72 hectaresForest, lawns, lakes and skywalks to navigate.
One set of markersEach checkpoint serves many courses, so there's always a new route.
Practise anytimeMembers can use the courses on their own, not just at classes.

What we do

Two Saturdays a month

Classes

Learn how to read a map and use a compass, then practise straight away on a real course in the park.

Last Saturday of the month

Monthly tournament

Teams race the course set out on their orienteering sheets. Every team that completes its course wins a prize.

Every November

Yearly championship

Our big event after the rainy season. Trophies for the top three teams, prizes for every finisher, plus music, food and entertainment.

How a class works

  1. Meet and sign in

    Find us at the covered area next to the futsal courts.

  2. Map and compass lesson

    A short lesson on reading the map, using the compass and what to do on the course.

  3. Head out

    Take your orienteering sheet, compass and whistle, and find the checkpoints with your team.

  4. Finish and refuel

    Back at the finish, check your results over free snacks and water.

Try a sample activity

Here are two of our course sheets. Each one pairs the park map with checkpoints A to D and a set of compass tasks. Beginners start with checkpoints close together; the intermediate course spreads them out and adds back bearings.

Beginner course sheet: park map with checkpoints A to D around the pond near the sports center, and four tasks measuring compass bearings between the points
BeginnerLearning to measure bearingsFour checkpoints close together, four bearing questions.
Intermediate course sheet: park map with checkpoints A to D spread further apart, and tasks on forward bearings, back bearings and following a set bearing
IntermediateForward and back bearingsCheckpoints farther apart, plus following a bearing to find a point.

When and where

When
Saturdays, twice a month, from 8:00 am
Meeting point
Covered sports area next to the futsal courts, Benjakitti Forest Park
Open in Google Maps
Cost
Free. Membership costs nothing.
We lend you
Map, compass, whistle and pen
You bring
Comfortable shoes, a hat and sunscreen
Getting there
MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre

Class dates are being finalised with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Parks and Recreation Department. Join the club to hear first.

Satellite view of Benjakitti Park beside Ratchadaphisek Road and the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre

Join the club

Membership is free, and every student and competitor registers as a member before their first class or tournament. Get in touch to sign up or to ask a question.

Support the club

We're a non-profit run by volunteers. Sponsors help us keep every class and tournament free. We're looking for support with:

  • Compasses and whistles
  • Checkpoint markers
  • Snacks and drinks
  • First aid cover
  • Prizes and trophies
  • Audiovisual equipment
  • Banners and backdrops

Schools, hospitals, outdoor stores and local businesses are welcome. Contact us to talk about sponsoring.