The pearls of Khao Lak and its region

Khao Lak  depends administratively on Takua Pa, a town located about 20 km to the north. Smaller than Phuket, this city offers a lot of shops.

In addition to its big market, you can discover in the old quarters of Takua Pa, old buildings in a Sino-Portuguese style.

Khao Lak is also full of small souvenir shops and other local products. Daily day and night markets are famous for their crafts, such as clothing, souvenirs and fresh products.

In Khao Lak, many means of transport are available such as taxi, samlo or private boats (long-tail boat), to make your trips. You can also rent bikes, cars or scooters.

A few kilometers from Khao Lak city, the small village of Bang Niang is famous for its market and its Thai boxing matches as well as its Ladyboy cabaret (Moo Moo Cabaret).

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Not far from there, in Khuek Khak, the Rawai Muay Thai offers Thai boxing lessons but also pilates and yoga.

Of course Khao Lak is ideal for beach activities: swimming, sunbathing, lazing around or various water activities such as diving or snorkeling.

Surfing is more and more practiced on these beaches having an adequate configuration and Memory Beach is one of the few renowned surf spots. You can also learn about boat trips or fishing.

Two nearby golf courses and horse riding centers are also available for lovers.

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Put end to end, the public and uncrowded beaches total 25 kilometers of white sand. Here you can enjoy typical Thai food  and freshly caught seafood. You can also learn about massages.

Come and explore the mangroves of “Little Amazon”, bathe the elephants and descend the river through the oldest rainforest of Khao Sok. 

Dive among fish and corals in the turquoise waters of the Similan or Surin Islands. Observe throughout your excursions buffaloes, meadow goats and rice paddies and rubber plantations. The diversity of Khao Lak and its region awaits you.

60 km off Khao Lak coasts, the Similan Islands are jewels made up of granite islets covered with greenery, shaped by erosion and bathed in turquoise waters . 

They are renowned for being one of the most beautiful diving “spots” in the world. A mask and a snorkel are enough to admire the splendor of an incredibly diverse fauna of nearly two hundred species listed as fish and crustaceans of course but also green turtles, manta rays, cucumbers and sea snakes.

The Surin islands are a 5 islands archipelago (declared a nature reserve) in the Andaman Sea. They are one of Thailand’s best dive sites due to its wonderful corals.

Snorkelling is enough to dive this natural aquarium which provides habitat for a huge variety of species just like the Similan archipelago.

The best season to discover these paradisiacal beaches is from November to the end of April. The rest of the year, the national parks of the Similan and Surin Islands are closed to visitors.

In addition to these famous islands, the region is full of real gold nuggets, islands isolated from the rest of the world but accessible, which leave us a foretaste of paradise.

Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi – which has preserved its authenticity by promoting fishing and rubber harvesting

Koh Kho Khao

Koh Ra

Koh Phra Thong “Golden Buddha Island

Kho Phi Phi

Many treasures are hidden in this region, starting with the Khao Lak Lam Ru forest, which became a national park in 1991. To see the tropical environment that dominates this part of the country, a hike through the Lam Ru and Lak mountains(1,077 meters) will be the best to discover many waterfalls flow. The most known is that of Lam Ru with its different levels fed all year round. The vegetation is lush and varied. The ccess to the park is in the Bang La On’s village.

Chong Fah Waterfall, a picturesque waterfall, is located inside the park and 7 kilometers inland north of Bang Niang. This walk is pleasant especially on hot sunny days.

Khao Sok National Park is renowned for being one the oldest virgin forests in the world. In this jungle, you can observe a multitude of plant and animal species with nearly 300 varieties of birds, occupying this territory of approximately 800 km². A remarkable environment to be explored on foot, by vehicle, by canoe or bamboo rafting along the Sok River. 

This park saves and heals elephants. In this sanctuary you can get acquainted with them in their natural habitat.

You can offer food to these giants, walk alongside them without climbing on their backs, and bathe them.

A 2 hour drive north of Khao Lak is the Rachaphrapha dam. The artificial lake of Cheow Lan created during the impoundment of the dam presents an astonishing landscape made up of cliffs that seem to emerge from the depths of the water.

In the south of Khao Lak, Phang Nga is undoubtedly one of the most majestic bays in Thailand, and even South-East Asia. Established as a national park, this immense turquoise labyrinth is woven of water and mangroves from which emerge islets and limestone peaks in extravagant shapes.

We can slalom between these rocks in a motorized canoe, discovering caves or natural underground galleries.

This bay is home to the famous James Bond Island Koh Tapu (nail island).

Discovered by a photographer looking for a dominant point of view to capture Phang Nga Bay, the breathtaking panorama of Samet Nangshe has become in a few years one of the most popular attractions in the region.

In Tambon Krasom, you will discover the most fascinating Buddhist monastery in Phang Nga, the Wat Suwan kuha.

This temple is special because it is inside a cave and a colony of monkeys lives at the entrance.

Inside, several Buddha statues adorn the cave, the most important of which is an elongated 15-meter-long Buddha statue.

There are many sites to visit around Khao Lak within 50 km such as the Royal Thai Navy Turtle Nursery, which is a marine turtle conservation center. You will be able to observe green turtles there at several periods of their life, from babies to the oldest.