Emerald Pool

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.

The Emerald Pool (Sa Morakot) is a natural spring-fed swimming hole deep in the lowland rainforest of Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve in southeastern Krabi province, near Khlong Thom. Mineral-rich water gives the pool its famous green-turquoise glow, reached by an easy forest walk.

Swimming in warm, glassy green water surrounded by old rainforest is a completely different Krabi experience from the beaches. The pool sits in one of southern Thailand's last lowland forest tracts, home to rare birds, and combines beautifully with the nearby Blue Pool and Khlong Thom Hot Springs.

The main pool's luminous colour is the star, shifting with light and season. The forest boardwalk in, alive with birdsong and butterflies, is a pleasure in itself, and the deeper-hued Blue Pool a short walk beyond, where swimming is prohibited, makes an otherworldly finale.

Swim and soak in the main pool, walk the nature trail through the reserve, and continue to the Blue Pool for photos. Birdwatchers come for rarities of the lowland forest, and most visitors pair the trip with a soak at Khlong Thom Hot Springs a short drive away.

The Emerald Pool itself and the Blue Pool are the two set pieces, linked by a forest path. The smaller upper spring pools along the trail are worth pausing at, and the reserve's nature trail is one of the easiest ways in Thailand to walk through genuine lowland rainforest.

Arriving at opening time transforms the experience: still water, mirror reflections and the forest to yourself before tour buses arrive. The longer nature trail loop, skipped by most visitors hurrying to swim, offers quiet birdwatching, and dry-season weekday afternoons can also be pleasantly calm.

Khlong Thom district around the reserve is rural southern Thailand at its most unhurried, with rubber smallholdings, palm plantations and market towns. The local museum in Khlong Thom town displays ancient beads from the area's days on early maritime trade routes, an unexpected cultural side note.

Khao Phra Bang Khram protects rare lowland rainforest famous among birders as home to Gurney's pitta, once thought extinct. Springs percolating through limestone create the pools' colours, and the surrounding trails reveal hornbills, kingfishers, butterflies and towering dipterocarp trees.

The shallow edges of the main pool suit confident child swimmers, and the flat boardwalk trail is manageable for most ages. Families should watch children near deeper sections and slippery rock, and morning visits avoid both crowds and the heat that tires young walkers.

There is no nightlife at the reserve, which closes in the late afternoon. Evenings are best spent back in Krabi Town at the night market, in Ao Nang, or at a quiet resort near Khlong Thom if you are overnighting locally.

Shoot the main pool early for still reflections and the clearest greens, and the Blue Pool in soft light when its colour is most intense. The boardwalk's tunnels of foliage, shafts of light through the canopy and butterflies at the pool edges all reward patient photographers.

The springs have long been known to Khlong Thom locals, and the area gained scientific fame in the 1980s when Gurney's pitta was rediscovered in this forest, spurring conservation of Khao Phra Bang Khram. Tourism grew steadily as Krabi's beach visitors sought inland day trips.

This is Krabi's agricultural interior, where southern Thai Buddhist and Muslim communities live from rubber, oil palm and orchards. Visits here support rural livelihoods, and the easy courtesy of small-town southern Thailand, greetings, patience, modest dress, sets the tone.

The dry months from November to April offer the clearest, greenest water; heavy rain from roughly June to October can cloud the pools and make trails slippery. Early morning on any day is the golden window, before tour groups arrive from the coast around mid-morning.

Krabi's interior shares the coast's pattern: hot and dry November to April, peaking March to May, with monsoon rains from about June to October. The forest stays humid year-round, and afternoon downpours in the wet season are brief but intense.

No festivals occur at the pool itself; Khlong Thom town and Krabi celebrate Songkran in April and Loy Krathong in November like the rest of Thailand. Check locally for community events if you are staying in the district.

Leave Ao Nang or Krabi Town early, reach the reserve at opening, and swim in the Emerald Pool while it is quiet. Walk on to the Blue Pool, loop back along the nature trail spotting birds, then drive to Khlong Thom Hot Springs for a soak and lunch before returning to the coast.

Two to three hours covers the walk and a good swim; a half day fits comfortably with the hot springs added. Combined Emerald Pool, Blue Pool and hot springs tours from the coast fill a relaxed full day.

The reserve lies near Khlong Thom, roughly an hour's drive southeast of Krabi Town and somewhat further from Ao Nang. Most visitors come by rented car or scooter, chartered songthaew or an organised tour; public transport reaches Khlong Thom town but the final stretch needs local transport.

Inside the reserve everything is on foot along flat boardwalks and earthen forest trails, with the Blue Pool about a kilometre beyond the main pool. Wear shoes with grip; paths near the water are wet and can be slippery.

Krabi International Airport, between Krabi Town and Khlong Thom, is the closest air gateway. Buses and minivans along the Krabi–Trang route stop at Khlong Thom town, from which motorbike taxis or chartered transport cover the last leg to the reserve entrance.

The reserve opens during daylight hours, typically from early morning to late afternoon, with the Blue Pool sometimes closing earlier than the main area. Hours can change seasonally, so aim for morning and check locally if visiting late in the day.

An entry fee is charged for the nature reserve, with the usual higher rate for foreign visitors seen across Thai protected areas. Fees are modest but change periodically; bring cash, as card payment is unlikely at the gate.

Simple Thai restaurants and noodle stalls cluster around the reserve's car park and along the Khlong Thom road, serving som tam, grilled chicken and rice dishes. For wider choice, eat in Khlong Thom town or wait for the seafood and market food back on the coast.

Inland Krabi eats robustly southern: fiery gaeng som, kua kling dry curry, fresh vegetables with nam phrik, and roti reflecting the region's Muslim food heritage. Roadside fruit stalls near Khlong Thom sell whatever is in season, from rambutan to mangosteen.

A handful of small resorts and homestays sit around Khlong Thom and the hot springs area, suiting travellers who want dawn access to the pools. Most visitors, though, stay on the coast at Ao Nang, Krabi Town or Koh Lanta and visit as a day trip.

This is an inexpensive outing: entry fees are modest, food nearby is local-priced and the main cost is transport, whether scooter rental, songthaew charter or a tour from the coast. Combining the pool and hot springs in one hire keeps costs efficient.

Stalls near the entrance sell swimwear, towels, snacks and drinks, and little else. Khlong Thom town has ordinary Thai shops and a market; keep souvenir shopping for Krabi Town's walking street or Ao Nang.

Rocks around the pools are slippery, so move carefully and supervise children near deeper water. Swim only where permitted, never in the Blue Pool, whose soft bed is dangerous. Guard valuables while swimming, apply mosquito repellent on the trail and avoid touching unfamiliar plants and insects.

The boardwalk section from the car park toward the main pool is relatively flat, making partial access possible, but surfaces become uneven and wet near the water and on the Blue Pool trail. Travellers with limited mobility can enjoy the forest walk-in with assistance; pool entry is unassisted natural rock.

Signage at the reserve is bilingual and staff manage basic English, though less fluently than on the tourist coast. Learning khop khun and a polite wai smooths interactions, and a translation app helps at local food stalls in Khlong Thom.

Go early, wear your swimsuit under your clothes, and bring water shoes for the rocky pool edges. Respect the no-swimming rule at the Blue Pool, pack out all rubbish, and pair the visit with the hot springs for a full inland day away from the beaches.

Carry swimwear, towel, water shoes, drinking water, mosquito repellent and a dry bag for phones and valuables. Reserve rules discourage soaps and sunscreens in the water, so rinse off beforehand; a change of clothes for the drive back is welcome.

The pools' clarity and the surrounding forest are fragile: avoid sunscreen and lotions in the water, take all litter out, stay on marked trails and keep noise low for the wildlife, including some of Thailand's rarest birds. Supporting local eateries keeps benefits in the community.

Khlong Thom Hot Springs, with its warm cascade pools, is minutes away and the natural pairing. Khlong Thom town's bead museum, the mangroves of the Andaman coast and Koh Lanta, reachable to the south, extend the itinerary; Krabi Town and Ao Nang are about an hour back north.

The site lies within Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve, administered under Thailand's protected-area system with rangers and a ticket office at the entrance. The TAT office covering Krabi province can advise on tours combining the pool with the hot springs.

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.

This section is being updated and will be available shortly.