Thailand : Eyewitness Travel Guide
Koh Phangan is Thailand’s fifth biggest island and without doubt one of the Kingdom’s most beautiful. It was the favorite island of Thailand’s most beloved former King, Rama V and remains hugely popular today with both Thais and foreign nationals. The reason for this popularity is in large part down to the beauty of the unspoiled nature on the island.
Koh Phangan was first permanently settled by monks 600 years ago who realized the spiritual significance of the island. Since then the island has flourished – first from fishing and coconut plantations and second from tourism. Although the island has a small permanent population of just 14,000 the numbers of people on the island swells to over 20,000 when there is a full moon and tourists flock to Haad Rin for the world’s biggest regular beach party.
The hedonism and crowds of the Full Moon Party is in contrast to the normal mellow and relaxed pace of Koh Phangan. The island has just the right amount of roads: enough for convenience but not so many as to carve up nature. All but a few of the beaches have road access and mains electricity. The notable exceptions are Than Sadet, Haad Khom and Haad Yuan. These remote white sand beaches are backed by lush tropical forest and have become places for holistic centers and hippy enclaves.
Over 90% of Koh Phangan retains it tree cover. Much of the forest is protected by National Park status. The Land Office on Koh Phangan has been more sensible than on Koh Samui and has limited residential development. As a result valuable bio-diversity has been maintained and the island escapes the floods that blight Koh Samui every rainy season.
There is over 10 km of coral reef to explore along the west coast of Koh Phangan. Beaches like Haad Salad and Haad Yao have excellent snorkeling. The best spot to see marine life, however, is at Koh Ma. It is a small islet joined to the mainland by a sand bar. The area is Koh Phangan’s only marine park and is host to a variety of corals and fish.
Recently luxury hotels have been built on Koh Phangan; most notably Rasananda and Santhiya Resort on Thong Nai Pan Noi. The hotels are a big success because people are happier to pay a premium for luxury accommodation if they are surrounded by natural beauty not traffic, concrete and noisy bars. The nature on Koh Phangan remains the island’s greatest asset, and maintaining the integrity of nature on the island is the key to the continual prosperity of the place.
