Mu Ko Lanta National Park — Attraction in Krabi Province

Mu Ko Lanta National Park, located in Krabi Province, Thailand, is a captivating destination that offers a blend of natural beauty, diverse ecosystems, and cultural experiences. Established in 1990, the park encompasses approximately 134 square kilometers, including several islands such as Ko Lanta Yai, Ko Lanta Noi, Ko Rok, and Ko Ngai.

The park is renowned for its pristine beaches, lush rainforests, and vibrant marine life. Visitors can explore white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and impressive caves. Ko Talabeng, for instance, features limestone karsts and sea-level caves that are accessible by kayaking. The smaller islands within the park are popular diving sites, offering opportunities to witness tropical marine life in the coral reefs surrounding the islands.

For those interested in hiking, the park offers trails that lead through dense forests and up to viewpoints with panoramic vistas of the Andaman Sea. The terrain is mountainous, especially near the southern tip, with elevations ranging from sea level to 488 meters at the tallest peak. The park’s diverse landscapes include rainforests, mangrove forests, and beach forests, each supporting unique flora and fauna.

Wildlife enthusiasts will appreciate the park’s biodiversity. The area is home to various species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and marine life. Birdwatchers can spot species like the brahminy kite and emerald dove, while the coral reefs host an array of marine animals, including staghorn coral and anemone coral.

Cultural experiences are also part of the park’s appeal. On Ko Lanta Yai, a clan of Chao Ley, or “sea gypsies,” resides, maintaining many of their ancient customs and ceremonies. Visitors may have the opportunity to learn about their traditions, such as the setting of ceremonial boats adrift to bring good luck and prosperity.

Access to the park is straightforward, with Ko Lanta Yai serving as the primary tourist destination. The park’s facilities include visitor centers, trails, and designated areas for camping and picnicking. It’s advisable to plan visits during the dry season, as some smaller islands are closed to visitors during the rainy season, which spans from mid-May to the end of October.

In summary, Mu Ko Lanta National Park offers a rich tapestry of natural wonders and cultural heritage. Whether you’re interested in exploring diverse ecosystems, engaging in outdoor activities like hiking and diving, or immersing yourself in local traditions, the park provides a memorable experience for...

Not even close to being worth 200 baht per person.

The "nature trail" is short, doesn't really have much to look at, it's just a walk in the jungle. The trail is paved with paving stones the whole way, and many are broken, fallen off the path, or just missing. It looks like the trail hasn't been maintained in a long time. There were also quite a few vines, trees and shrubs overgrowing the path.

The beach is not relaxing at all due to the constant attack of monkeys trying to steal your stuff. Someone literallly has to watch guard. Even if two people are laying right next to their stuff, monkeys will still charge and try and grab your stuff.

The water is not good for swimming, it is really shallow, there are sharp corals, and sea lice which cause constant stinging.

There are no smoking signs everywhere, but the guards right outside the park headquarters who are taking your tickets are smoking! They put up a "smoking section" sign and area next to themselves to make it seem acceptable (even though they are abviousoy not allowed to, there are no smoking signs everywhere that say it's a 2000 baht fine), but it's just an excuse to allow them to smoke, and they were even too lazy to walk the 3 metres over into the actual smoking section.

The Visitor centre is terrible. It doesn't have much information in English , the information it does have is pretty useless. The staff in there are ridiculous. I walked right up to the counter, and there were 2 staff behind it. One was eating and the other was on her phone. I said hello, and they didn't even acknowledge me. After repeating myself louder she took a moment more on her phone then looked up to me without saying a word. I told her about the bad condition of the park, which she didn't care at all about, and didn't care at all that the staff were smoking either. In general, her English was poor and broken. You would think the staff in a visitor centre would be able to communicate decently in English.

If this park was 20 baht it might be worth it, maybe... But 200... What a joke. Definitely not worth visiting.

Do yourself a favor and stop at one of the much nicer beaches along the way, and if you're looking for monkeys, you will most likely see them before even getting to the park, just look...

Absolutely gorgeous.

We (2 adults) were with a 7 year old and our female taxi driver. We arrived around 1pm so I didn't want to be exposed to the sun, so we followed the trail from the car park. It took us around 1.5 hours in total. It should take 1 hour at a standard pace.

It appears that further up a tree has fallen and blocked the main walking path so we ended up having to climb steep slopes that had ropes to help us climb up. This was quite taxing for our Thai driver in flip flops, so please wear sandals with straps or trainers!

Once we made it to the main path it was clear that it would be a more challenging path for those with short legs, the steps were steep in some places. One wonders who decided on the depth of them, as again they are not designed for people with short legs!

Our child managed, possibly due to the slower pace we took after our driver thought she was going to faint. But we put that down to an early start and she'd just drank a 1 litre container of soy milk.

We convinced the driver to come with us at a slower pace and she managed to get through the trail with us, it was definitely an adventure for her. You'll probably feel joy and congratulate yourself or your children when you get to the other side. It's 2000m in total, so worth the journey though.

We saw monkeys in the car park, there were a couple in the trees during the walk but it was my child and partner who saw them.

The beach is gorgeous, the water was choppy but really nice to bathe in, we walked up to the lighthouse, which was a bit tricky.

Absolutely worth a visit.

Also, not surprisingly the prices are as follows: Thai Adult 40 Baht Foreigner Adult 200 Baht Foreigner Child 100 Baht Car 30 Baht

It feels rather cheeky to charge 5x the amount of a local. But our driver didn't really seem to try to negotiate, whereas our local foreign friend who lives here would work his charm to negotiate a lower charge at other places. I don't think you'd get away with it here unless you spoke...