Phaeng Waterfall Nature Trail

This scenic waterfall trail is one of many places you can hike on Koh Phangan island. While it wasn’t really flowing due to us being there at the beginning of the rainy season, we still took the time to explore some of the more natural parts of this party island.

We had to pay 100 baht to get onto the trail after we arrived. I spent a bit too much time trying to get a good picture of a butterfly near the entrance, but with no success. Apparently butterflies are easy to spot here, but we didn’t see many. We did see a scaly friend crossing our path when we started the walk though.

On the way into the nature trail there were signs telling us what to expect as we climbed. The one I found funny was the sign warning of poisonous insects, which had no insects on the sign. Spiders and scorpions tend not to be dangerous anyways. But the centipedes can be fuckers so stay far away if you spot one of them.

Finally we enter the trail proper and the real hiking begins. It was an easy walk at first, until we reached the waterfall proper. Then it involved a lot of steep climbing, holding onto ropes, and scrambling over rocks. Komoot called this an easy hike, but it was far from easy.

Of course, I was still smoking at the time so not being able to breathe as well probably made things a lot harder. You aren’t allowed to smoke anywhere on the trail – the locals really care about protecting the environment as much as they can.

In the end, despite there being little water falling on the waterfall, our efforts were rewarded with a great view of Koh Phangan. A picture like this will never do the actual view justice, but it’s always a treat to come across during a long day’s hiking.

The park was closing by this point, so we made our way back down before the sunset took away our light. We made our way back home to relax with some friends and some home made hotpot.