About the Island
Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan is an island paradise in the Gulf of Thailand located about 100 km from the coast of Southern Thailand Surat Thani Province and about 15 km from the famous resort island of Koh Samui. Koh Phangan is the largest of Samui’s neighboring islands with an area of 168 square km. Over 70% of its total area is mountains and tropical forest the lowland is mountains and coconut fields.
There are approximately 14,000 people living in Koh Phangan, the majority of which are Chinese descent. There are also many Thai’s from all over Thailand, who moved here to start a tourism related business. Most inhabitants live in Thong Sala, the main gateway into the island from Samui.
Resources
The most important produce of Koh Phangan is coconuts. Each month Koh Samui and Koh Phangan produce more than 1 million coconut exports to Bangkok. Others prominent island produce is fishing and, of course, there is the growing tourism business. Around 95 per cent of the island’s population are Buddhists and it plays very significant role in their daily life.
Koh = island
Pha = meet or find
Ngan = sandy beach which can be seen at low tide.
Tourism
Phaeng Waterfall National Park
Phaeng Waterfall National Park is located in the village of Madua Wan. The Park has a nice waterfall close to the entrance and some trekking routes to mountaintop viewpoints, including a long winding foot trail leading up to Koh Phangan’s highest mountain peak Khao Ra (630m).
Chinese Temple
The temple is the result of the dream a woman had in 1990 in which the (Chinese) Buddha spoke to her and asked her to build a firelight for the people.
The Biggest Yang In Thailand
A Don Yang is a huge tropical tree and this gigantic specimen measures 14 meters in diameter, stands to branch off leaves and limbs for hundreds of years.
Wat Khao Noi
Wat Khao Noi is the oldest temple on Koh Phangan with ancient buildings and Chedis. The Buddha statue inside is there for more than 300 years now.