In early November I spent a weekend in Koh Samui with some friends. It was the beginning of the rainy season so it wasn’t exactly beach weather, but we wanted to do something fun and outdoorsy. A hike to a waterfall sounded perfect, get a little exercise and see some of Koh Samui’s natural beauty.

I did a quick google search at breakfast and came up with the Na Muang Waterfalls. From the website it looked like there were two waterfalls and you could do a short easy hike between them, and that sounded perfect. But this is where I went wrong, I should have looked at another site or two because this really wasn’t the case. There are two waterfalls but it’s not a great hike between them. You can however do a hike to the second falls, just don’t start from the first.

For what ended up being a sort of weird adventure to see the waterfalls check out this post.

For how to get the most from your visit to the Na Muang Waterfalls in Koh Samui keep on reading.

Getting There

Unless you’ve rented a car or scooter you’ll need to get a taxi to get there. The best thing to do is to hire a taxi for the afternoon to take you there and back. It’s important to have the driver wait or come back for you because even though it is a touristy spot there are no taxis or shuttles waiting around for fairs. Make sure to negotiate and settle on a price with the driver at the beginning of the ride rather than at the end.

Na Muang Waterfall #1

The first waterfall is pretty spectacular with water plummeting down into a large pool. From the parking lot it’s a short walk up a paved path to the falls and there is plenty or room to roam around. Normally  you can swim in the pool, but it was a bit muddy and murky when we were there due to all the rain and moving water.

There are also a few little shops and food stands near the falls along the path so you can grab a snack if you are feeling hungry.

Na Muang Waterfall #2

The second waterfall is located in a safari park a ways up the hill, have your driver take you up there. We walked it thinking it was a hike, but it’s not, it’s a semi busy street up a steep hill. Not super fun. The safari park itself is free to enter, and from the parking lot you can follow the signs up the path for the waterfall. From the parking it’s a 30-45 minute hike up to the waterfall, part on paved paths and part jungle paths with wooden walkways and ropes.

We didn’t hike all the way to the top as the water levels were quite high. There are supposedly pools to swim in near the top, which would very nice on a hot day after a hike. The hike itself is moderate difficulty as it can be steep and uneven in parts, but the surrounding jungle is awesome. And the views from lookout points are pretty spectacular, you can see all the way to the beach from some points.

The Safari Park

The safari park, while free to enter does have several paid attractions, including elephant rides and animal shows. I would strongly urge you not to partake in any of these attractions, it’s becoming more widely known that these animals are tortured and or drugged so that tourist can enjoy rides and shows. I felt so heart broken watching an elephant carry two rather large western tourists walk by, you could see that it was in pain. So please do not support abuse and forego the animal attractions and enjoy the jungle hike and waterfall instead.

These are some really good articles about animal tourism and attractions if you are interested in reading more about it.

Here and Air – Elephants
Expique – Thailand Animal Attractions
One Green Planet – Tigers

Aside from some uncomfortableness about the safari park, the hike and waterfalls were very cool and made for a fun afternoon. Getting out and enjoying nature while getting some exercise is one of my favorite things to do, and one of the best ways to explore a new place.