This hike was the honeymoon special. Ira and I had planned on visiting three countries on our honeymoon:
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Bali
We knew that the first leg of our trip, namely, Krabi in Thailand would be where we would be able to soak up the most sun, and do the most adventurous activities. The remaining parts of our trip, would in true honeymoon fashion, mostly involved sightseeing, eating and enjoying each other’s company. Ira had pointedly looked up the best hike to do in the Krabi province, as what better way to celebrate our union than with a celebration of our favourite activity? It was decided that on our fourth day in Krabi, we would attempt this incredibly steep climb to the top of the best vantage point in the entire province.
However foremost a word of warning, this hike is not a walk in the park. It is short (we measured just over 4.2km each way), but there is just over 550m of altitude gain. If you do the maths, this is an average grade of 13%. Whilst this might not sound like much, in the humidity of the Thailand rainforest, its well advised to bring good shoes and a change of (dry) clothes.
Getting There
For one, this hike is in Thailand, so let’s assume you’ve figured out flights and you’re already in the Krabi Province.
The trailhead of the Ngon Nak Nature Trail is located on the west coast of the Krabi province. It is about a 25-minute drive from Ao Nang Beach or 40 minutes from Krabi Town. For those with top-tier travel insurance and brave enough to hire scooters, Google Maps can readily guide you to the trailhead. Given that we were on our honeymoon, and that neither of us have time for broken collar bones and road rash, we simply caught a taxi in. Most taxis are also happy to wait while you complete the trail, but make sure you allow for about four-hours (even with a high-degree of fitness!) for the there-and-back hike.
There is also an entrance fee of 200 Baht and the trailhead entrance, which is fantastic to see! Presumably these funds are used to manage the bathrooms at the trailhead, as well as general trail maintenance.
It would also be wise to start this walk early in the morning at say, 7am. This way you avoid the hottest and most humid parts of the day, as well as the tour-groups which generally start at 9am. I, however, was on my honeymoon, and decided to sleep in, resulting in us starting this hike at 12.30pm. Whilst we certainly did avoid the crowds, we also had the pleasure of doing the walk during the hottest part of the equatorial day.
The Hike
There is generally one word that can be used to describe this trail: steep. The terrain underfoot changes in varying degrees of uneven; from loose sand, cobbles and rocks to fallen trees and tree roots.
What was unique for me about this hike is that it is through an equatorial rainforest. We were constantly reminded of this not only by the humidity, but even more so with the sounds that engulfed us. Here the chirp of the birds and the hum of the insects was familiar, but pointedly different, to the walks that we are used to in Sydney.
I was delighted to see that every small creek we crossed was crystal clear, and contained fish! Tropical fish. This really is indicative of the overall health of the watershed. For those who fancy themselves as herpetologists, there were certainly plenty of lizards(?) or monitors darting around on the trees to keep one occupied with macro photos. Whilst I kept a keen eye out for any snakes, we weren’t lucky enough to see any, likely due to the amount of foot-traffic this trial gets. If reptiles aren’t your thing, the butterflies fluttering constantly along the trail will surely keep you entertained, because who doesn’t like butterflies?
The hike generally features a well-formed and uneven path. The steepest sections of the hike have some (incredibly) steep stairs. Where stairs were deemed impractical to build, you will find ropes to hold on to at the side of the trail, while navigating the natural “stairs” formed by the exposed tree roots. Traversing up tree roots whilst holding a rope was pretty special.
I must say this hike felt a lot longer than it really was, and it’s just as much a climb as it is a walk. It would be wise to bring plenty of water, as my shirt was completely drenched as we were nearing the top. Here you will get glimpses of the rural Krabi setting all the way to the horizon.
By the time you reach the top of the mountain (and it really is a mountain!) you will have one of the most jaw dropping views in arguably the whole world. Whilst photos don’t do it justice, this particular image is now on canvas and lives in our dining room.
The walk back may be downhill, but we had to battle the wobbly legs we’d earned on the way up. But given we’d spent something in the order of 1100 calories in just under four-hours, it was time for some cheap eats.
The Eats
The beauty of Thailand is that almost everything is cheap eats, and could be featured here on this blog. Thai food is fresh, punchy and fast. The locals also have a high degree of food hygiene practises, and belly bugs were generally not a worry.
We had been given a strong tipoff by a fellow traveller about the best pad-thai in Krabi, so of course we were going to check it out. Pad-thai (as basic as it might sound) had very much been our staple in Krabi. It’s amazing how such a simple dish can be so damn good, and by this stage of the trip, we were well and truly connoisseurs. I don’t know if it was because we were so hungry from the hike, but suffice to stay our Costa Rican compatriot wasn’t wrong, and it was the best pad-thai and thai-milk tea we had all trip.
