Hiking Tour Koh Phangan

Today our day started much earlier than planned: Shortly after five o'clock we were jolted from our sleep by the loud calls of the neighbor's rooster – and it was still crowing persistently when we left the house at 6:30 AM. Our route today was set to take us over 15 kilometers past a decommissioned warship and various temples. Since we mostly circled the mountains this time, we had significantly fewer ascents to deal with than we did in Koh Tao.

Right near our accommodation, the V-View Beach, a river flows through the mangroves. We were lucky and were able to observe a huge monitor lizard swimming calmly through the water – complete with duckweed on its head. It's a pity that the river is heavily polluted, and the pedestrian bridge that once went through the area has been left to decay for years. Unfortunately, it seems that the tourist priorities lie elsewhere.

Our first stop took us to the Wat Rat Charoen temple where the monks were already busy sweeping. It seems that this is the favorite pastime of the locals here because someone is sweeping leaves in their yard all day long.

After taking a few atmospheric photos in the soft morning light, we continued to the King Rama IX Memorial and the impressive Phangan Royal Navy Ship. The ship can be extensively toured, and there is even a jogging track around it. A group of Europeans took advantage of this and completed a few laps there. Jogging with a view, so to speak.

Crossing a bridge near the coast, we continued to the Wat Umphawan Koh Phangan temple, which impressed us with its beautiful statues.

The next highlight was Wat Maduea Wan: Here a grand staircase lined with snake statues leads up to a hill. The climb to the shrine there was absolutely worth it.

As a final point, we spontaneously decided to visit the Phaeng Noi Waterfall in the Than Sadet-Ko Pha-Ngan Sok National Park. After the long trek along the road, I really wanted to experience some nature. At the entrance (100 Baht p.P.), we were cautioned that the waterfall currently has very little water, but we mainly wanted to enjoy the surroundings anyway.

However, the narrow path quickly became very steep and rooty, and after a good ten kilometers with little sleep, we started to doubt our plans. I wanted to continue, though, since we had already paid for admission and finally had some wild nature around us. So Simon descended to a nearby café to take a much-needed break, and I pressed on.

The path was partly unpaved and not always entirely clear. There were some climbing passages over roots or falling rocks; a few times I used the (not always present) rope for climbing. It was quite adventurous but beautiful. You feel a bit like a monkey – swinging from tree trunk to tree trunk to hold onto the steep path.

I passed by a total of five waterfalls (the statement that they had little water was even exaggerated, as there was hardly any water flowing except for a small trickle now and then), and in between there was only jungle.

I even encountered a deer that made a startled grunt, and a few monkeys were playing in the trees. There were many different butterflies and dragonflies to see. For the most part, I was alone until two other visitors who turned back at different points. I was a bit uncertain whether I would make the route, but since the trail wasn't always very clear, I accidentally took the longer route with the viewpoint.

Upon reaching the top, there was a sign prohibiting climbing on the rocks – however, the information board with the names of the islands was located on the second-to-last rock formation before the abyss, and to actually see the islands, you have to climb all the way to the top.

All in all, we added another five kilometers through the rainforest to our planned route, which were worth every effort.

The remaining stretch to our accommodation took a bit longer because we were both quite tired, but happy.