From sea level to the crest

Twenty-four trails, one measured climb

Koh Samui is a single granite dome that tops out at 632 m. Every trail here starts near the sea, and how far up it takes you is the one number that predicts the rest of your day.

trails mapped
24
island crest
632 m
highest point reached
631 m
reach a viewpoint
14
under an hour
7
  1. Khao Pom Koh Samui 631 m
  2. Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail 610 m
  3. Khao Phra Trail 515 m
  4. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse 448 m
  5. Sleeping Buddha Trail 442 m
  6. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek 285 m
  7. Grand Viewpoint Traverse 231 m
  8. Khun Si Waterfall Trail 231 m
  9. Tan Rua Trail 166 m
  10. Hog Trail 164 m
  11. Wang Sao Thong Trail 100 m
  12. Lamai Viewpoint 70 m
  13. Tartain Waterfall Trek 62 m
  14. Monkey Trail Koh Samui 56 m
  15. Na Muang Waterfalls Trail 56 m
  16. Lad Koh Viewpoint 27 m
  17. Hin Lad Waterfall Trail 26 m
  18. Overlap Stone Samui Viewpoint 17 m
  19. Khao Nui Loop 16 m
  20. Secret Buddha Garden Trail 16 m
  21. Lardwanorn Waterfall Loop 13 m
  22. Coral Cove to Silver Beach 5 m
Mean and maximum land height at each distance from the island's centre, with every trail plotted where it actually sits above 0 m. Samui is wider than it is tall, so this section is stretched vertically about 5× to keep the climb visible: the same admission any printed topographic profile makes. Ang Thong's two trails sit on a separate island, outside this terrain extract, so they carry no measured height here.
Cross-section of Koh Samui from the coast to its 632 m crest, with all 24 trails plotted at their measured height above the sea.
TrailHeight
Khao Pom Koh Samui631 m
Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail610 m
Khao Phra Trail515 m
Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse448 m
Sleeping Buddha Trail442 m
Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek285 m
Grand Viewpoint Traverse231 m
Khun Si Waterfall Trail231 m
Tan Rua Trail166 m
Hog Trail164 m
Wang Sao Thong Trail100 m
Lamai Viewpoint70 m
Tartain Waterfall Trek62 m
Monkey Trail Koh Samui56 m
Na Muang Waterfalls Trail56 m
Lad Koh Viewpoint27 m
Hin Lad Waterfall Trail26 m
Overlap Stone Samui Viewpoint17 m
Khao Nui Loop16 m
Secret Buddha Garden Trail16 m
Lardwanorn Waterfall Loop13 m
Coral Cove to Silver Beach5 m
Ang Thong Emerald Lakeoff this map (Ang Thong)
Ang Thong Wua Talab Viewpointoff this map (Ang Thong)

How much day it costs

Ten minutes to six hours

Height is the first question; time on foot is the second. These 24 trails span a ten-minute stroll to a six-hour trek, so budget the walk before you budget the view.

Four commitments

Shore, foothill, ridge, summit

Every trail sorts into one of four bands by measured height. The band tells you what to expect before you tell it your fitness level.

Shore

0-50 m

7 trails

Flat, sea-level walks you could do barefoot, with nothing above 50 m to climb.

Foothill

50-200 m

7 trails

A short rise into the foothills, enough incline to want closed shoes and a bottle of water.

Ridge

200-400 m

3 trails

A real climb into the ridgeline forest: an hour or more of sustained gradient and a liter of water.

Summit

400 m+

5 trails

A half day or more of climbing above 400 m, proper footwear, and for one trail a guide.

Off the island (Ang Thong)

2 trails

Ang Thong's two trails sit on a separate island, outside this terrain extract, so they carry no measured height here.

What is at the top

What waits at the top

Not every trail ends at a view. Some end at a waterfall, a temple, or just shade and quiet, and most stack more than one payoff on the way.

Viewpoint 14

  1. Khao Pom Koh Samui 631 m
  2. Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail 610 m
  3. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse 448 m
  4. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek 285 m
  5. Grand Viewpoint Traverse 231 m
  6. Khun Si Waterfall Trail 231 m

Waterfall 10

  1. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek 285 m
  2. Grand Viewpoint Traverse 231 m
  3. Khun Si Waterfall Trail 231 m
  4. Tan Rua Trail 166 m
  5. Wang Sao Thong Trail 100 m
  6. Lamai Viewpoint 70 m

Temple 3

  1. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse 448 m
  2. Sleeping Buddha Trail 442 m
  3. Secret Buddha Garden Trail 16 m

Shade 8

  1. Khao Phra Trail 515 m
  2. Hog Trail 164 m
  3. Wang Sao Thong Trail 100 m
  4. Tartain Waterfall Trek 62 m
  5. Na Muang Waterfalls Trail 56 m
  6. Hin Lad Waterfall Trail 26 m

Solitude 9

  1. Khao Pom Koh Samui 631 m
  2. Khao Phra Trail 515 m
  3. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse 448 m
  4. Sleeping Buddha Trail 442 m
  5. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek 285 m
  6. Hog Trail 164 m

When the falls run

Waterfall trails by month

Samui's waterfalls are seasonal. Walking one of these trails in the dry season can mean a dry rockface at the end of it, so check the month before you commit the climb.

Jan

9

Feb

7

Mar

3

Apr

0

May

2

Jun

3

Jul

4

Aug

7

Sep

9

Oct

10

Nov

10

Dec

9

  • Dry
  • Low flow
  • Good flow
  • Strong flow

Flow strength is a general pattern from rainfall records, not a live forecast: a dry spell in a wet month still runs low. Read the full waterfall guide

Waterfall trails by month
When the falls runJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
9 9: Strong flow7: Strong flow3: Good flow0: Low flow2: Good flow3: Good flow4: Good flow7: Strong flow9: Strong flow10: Strong flow10: Strong flow9: Strong flow

In our own words

What the trail articles actually say

  1. This is the hardest hike on Koh Samui by a significant margin.

    Khao Pom Koh Samui

  2. There is no official signage or blazed trail: this is a self-guided coastal walk, not a maintained hiking path, so a downloaded map pin for each beach is more useful than trying to follow markers.

    Coral Cove to Silver Beach

  3. Parking at the trailhead costs roughly 20-50 THB, and the Tree Bridge zipline is a separate optional add-on priced around 1,600-1,700 THB per person.

    Tan Rua Trail

  4. There are two established ways to walk the Nathon Mountain Ridge, and picking the right one matters more than any other planning decision.

    Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek

  5. The Sleeping Buddha Trail begins inside the Secret Buddha Garden complex in Koh Samui's central interior hills, above Baan Saket and northwest of Lamai.

    Sleeping Buddha Trail

Before you start

Eight things worth knowing

Where they start

Every trailhead on one map

Twenty-four pins, each verified against its article. Open one to see the height, the time, and what is waiting at the top.

Loading the map

Places in view

22 places in view

The full directory

Beyond the trail

What else is near the trailhead

Most hikes here start a short ride from a beach, a waterfall or a temple worth adding to the same day.

Nearest beach

  1. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse to Na Phra Lan Beach 0.4 km away
  2. Lad Koh Viewpoint to Coral Cove Beach 1 km away
  3. Lad Koh Viewpoint to Chaweng Noi Beach 1 km away
  4. Lardwanorn Waterfall Loop to Lipa Noi Beach 1.1 km away
  5. Hog Trail to Bang Po Beach 1.3 km away

Nearest waterfall

  1. Tan Rua Trail to Tan Rua Waterfall (Secret Falls) 0.2 km away
  2. Grand Viewpoint Traverse to Khun Si Waterfall 0.2 km away
  3. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek to Hin Lad Waterfall 0.6 km away
  4. Wang Sao Thong Trail to Khao Yai Waterfall 0.9 km away
  5. Overlap Stone Samui Viewpoint to Sivatara Waterfall 1 km away

Nearest temple

  1. Lardwanorn Waterfall Loop to Wat Nara Charoen Suk 0.5 km away
  2. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse to Wat Na Phra Lan 0.6 km away
  3. Lamai Viewpoint to Wat Sila Ngu 0.9 km away
  4. Overlap Stone Samui Viewpoint to Guan Yu Shrine 1 km away
  5. Khao Nui Loop to Wat Pradoem 1.1 km away

Guides that pass this way

Before you start climbing

Questions about the trails and their heights

Where do the trail heights on this page come from?

Each height is sampled from terrain data at the exact coordinate pinned on the trail's article, not taken from the article's prose. Checking that way caught two trails whose published summit figures were off by more than 150 m.

What is the highest point you can hike to on Koh Samui?

The island's measured crest is 632 m. The highest trail pin in this set reaches 515 m, on Khao Phra.

Which Koh Samui hike is the hardest?

Khao Pom, in the summit tier. It is the one trail on this page that requires a guide, and its own article calls it the hardest hike on the island by a significant margin.

Are any of these hikes flat?

Yes. The four shore-tier trails stay under 50 m, and the coastal walk to Coral Cove and Silver Beach barely climbs at all.

Do I need a guide for hiking in Koh Samui?

Only Khao Pom requires one. Several ridge and summit trails recommend a guide for navigation, and the rest are walkable alone with an offline map.

When is the best season to hike on Koh Samui?

December through February is coolest and driest for most trails. Waterfall trails are the exception: they need the wet season, roughly June through December, to actually be running.