Koh Samui is the main island among the many islets that make up Surat Thani province and is also the third largest in the country, after Phuket and Koh Chang. This archipelago, off the eastern coast of Thailand, is home to fishermen and a natural habitat for a wide range of aquatic and land-borne life.
Koh Samui has long been a popular tourist destination known for its white sandy beaches and azure sea set against a shoreline of towering coconut trees. Other distinctive features are the proliferate coconut plantations dotted throughout the island. Many islanders still make a living from harvesting coconuts and this gives Samui its second name of "Coconut Island."
Famous Beaches
Of the many beaches on Koh Samui, Chaweng and Lamai are the two most popular. Chaweng Beach is the most developed beach on the eastern coast of Samui, known for its clean sand and sparkling water. Hundreds of coconut trees, which line the extended curvature of the shoreline, provide picture postcard scenes of the bay.
Just south of Chaweng is the more peaceful Lamai Beach. Many visitors who come to this beach visit the fascinating rock formations, Hin Ta and Hin Yai. To all but the most conservative imaginations these resemble male and female genitalia, and according to legend, were formed after a shipwreck when the bodies of an old couple were washed ashore.
Scenic Waterfalls
The other two famous (somewhat less risque) landmarks on Koh Samui are Hin Lat and Na Muang waterfalls. Nearrby are fruit plantations, mostly cultivating coconut trees. Hin Lat Waterfall is a relatively gentle waterfall but the flow of water leading to the falls firns a stream and several small pools surrounded by palms, ferns, and vines, making scenic natural swimming hole.
Na Muang Waterfall, nearby, is bigger and more powerful, cascading down a 40-meter cliff and forming a pool below for wading and splashing about. Both waterfalls are at their best during the rainy season.
Big Buddha
Koh Samui, as everywhere in Thailand, is also rife with temples. Koh Fan, now a part of Koh Samui, features the Island’s “Big Buddha,” at Wat Phra Yai Kho Fan. The temple is on a mountain top and gives a spectacular view of nearby islands and beaches.