Hiking on Koh Lanta: tips about the hiking route in the national park – Travel Friday

If you want to have an active and beautiful excursion on Koh Lanta, you should definitely go to the very south of the island! Here is the Mu Lanta National Park, a park we would like to return to. Here you can walk, swim, admire the view, eat or just sit on a bench and do nothing. This is what it looked like during our last visit, when the aim was to take the approximately three kilometer long hiking trail in the national park with some friends.

Hiking on Koh Lanta: tips about the hiking trail, the lighthouse and the beach in the national park

#1. Hiking in the Mu Lanta National Park

We drive to the park by moped, which takes between 45 minutes and an hour from our Klong Dao beach (about 6.5 kilometers). Traffic is hectic at times, but as we go further south, we encounter less and less traffic. Our final destination for today is Mu Koh Lanta National Park, a national park that was established in 1990. The park is one of approximately 130 official national parks in Thailand (for comparison, Sweden has 31).

There are several guards at the entrance to the national park, because you cannot enter here without paying the entrance fee. We pay 200 baht per adult and 40 baht for the mop. I take the opportunity to photograph the sign for a good overview of the park, where the walking trail is excellent. The guards remind us to drive slowly down the hill towards the park – it is terribly style! We park in the designated parking lot where the start of the walking route is located.

This walk should really be done from the parking lot towards the forest (with the stretch along the sea as the last stage) for the best possible experience! The walk starts with a steep climb over a well-trodden path.

Soon signs will appear warning of slippery roads – some parts of the walk should be a nightmare during the rainy season.

I had not brought a person with reduced mobility on this walk. The slopes are sometimes very steep and require a rope to climb up.

After some of the toughest sections comes a paved section that is quite pleasant.

Every now and then signs appear along the road with explanations and descriptions of the vegetation and animals here in the national park.

There is a rustling leaf (which keeps you on the excellent path for everyone’s sake!) and the green is intense.

Soon we reach a sign about the monkeys “Dusky Langur” (also called dusky leaf monkey or brillangur/leaf monkey)…

…and if you look, you’ll see a whole group of these charm trolls high among the treetops ogling us. This species has dark gray, almost black fur and striking white rings around the eyes. The species is listed as endangered, unlike the “Crab-eating Macaques” – these sometimes quite aggressive monkeys that are found in abundance here on the island.

We continue step by step, with sweat running down our backs. Soon we see some turquoise up there…

… and ultimately rewarded with an incredibly beautiful view of a colorful sea. Now the steps finally go down instead of up!

We catch a glimpse of the sweet white lighthouse on the other side of the bay and soon we also see the famous sandy beach.

#2. The beaches of the national park

The last small stage of our walk goes along the sandy beach of the national park, “Sandy beach” as it is called on the national park’s own map.

The sandy beach is white, beautiful and quite wild. This is definitely not a beach for sunbeds and umbrellas, on the contrary. But after the walk it is of course nice to have a swim!

The big swing at one end of the beach has been there for as long as I can remember. Beyond the small lighthouse there is also “Rocky Beach”, excellent…

…and this is, as the name suggests, a much rockier version of the beach where I have never seen anyone swimming until now.

Read more: Best beach on Koh Lanta – a beach guide with 13 tips

#3. The lighthouse in the national park (and the view from the hill!)

I don’t think you should leave the national park without climbing the little lighthouse!

Here you get an incomparably beautiful view of both the national park and the sea.

For safety reasons, climbing the lighthouse is not allowed.

As far as I know the lighthouse is still in use, but since I have never visited the national park at night, I have never seen it lit.

#4. Good to know about the walk and the national park

• Hiking: The approximately three kilometer long walk is available exemplary excellent on All Trails and has received good reviews.
• Access: Admission costs 200 baht for adults and 100 baht for children between 3 and 14 years old. Thai citizens pay 40 baht for adults and 20 baht for children. You also have to pay to enter the park by car, 30 baht for cars and 20 baht for mopeds/motorcycles.
• Opening hours: The park is open daily from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
• Food and coffee: There is a nice little restaurant near the lighthouse. Here you can buy shakes, fruit, drinks and simple snacks.
• Accommodation (cottages and camping): You can book cottages (two rooms for four people) that cost 1,500 baht per night. These can only be booked in advance via the DNP website and can only be booked from Thailand. There are also two campsites associated with the national park, one in Laem Tanod (which is within the national park itself) and another in Ko Rok. The tents cannot be reserved in advance. The tents cost 300 baht per night. Read more at the website.
• Last but not least! Respect the monkeys and feed them absolute not!

Here you can read about our previous long stays in Thailand.

Cover photo: Mu Koh Lanta National Park, Thailand. Author: Annika Myhre/Resfredag.se