Where to see Monkeys in Phuket

I get the impression that a lot of visitors to Phuket want to see a monkey .. and preferably not in the zoo (the zoo will not appear on this list). Now, I am a bit blasé when it comes to monkeys. I have seen plenty. I have traveled in Africa, been face to face with a baboon outside my tent, seen hundreds of vervet monkeys in the Masai Mara, and I have seen gorillas in the Ruwenzori mountains (gorillas are not monkeys of course - they are apes). Nevertheless, I am still happy to see wild monkeys. There are not many wild animals left in Phuket - the island was jungle covered 200 years ago, and Phuket used to have wild elephants, tigers, rhino and a lot more. Industry in the form of tin mining and especially rubber led to clearance of much of the jungle during the 19th and early 20th century, long before any tourists came here. There are some untouched jungly areas, but much of the land is cultivated, and there are no tigers here anymore! Monkeys however are adaptable, and can live in just about any kind of environment. There are quite a number of places where you can see monkeys in the Phuket area....

Monkey Hill

I guess the best place to start is Monkey Hill (real name is Khao To Sae) on the north side of Phuket Town - it's the hill with all the aerials / radio masts etc. on top, and easy to spot from much of the south of the island, being around 270m above sea level. There are a lot of monkeys here, mostly they are found near the top of the hill. Local people come up to feed them, but it's not a "tourist attraction". You can drive up in a car. People also exercise here, but I am not sure I'd want to walk up to the top where the monkeys are. Not sure if they can get aggressive, but I'd rather be in a car!

• Monkey Hill - More Information




Rang Hill

Also on the north side of Phuket Town, Rang Hill (I am sure) never used to have monkeys some years ago, I do not recall seeing any until the last few years. Rang Hill is quite popular as a viewpoint, a place to eat or get some fresh air and exercise. Our last few visits, there have been monkeys a-plenty taking handouts or sifting through garbage. They just tend to hang around the carpark area and not the restaurants.

• Rang Hill - More Information
• Tunk Ka Cafe on Rang Hill




Sirey Island (east of Phuket Town)

As you drive to Koh Sirey, passing the fishing port and shipyards, you enter an area of mangroves and here be monkeys. They live in the mangroves and the local authorities even built a little monkey viewing area by the side of the road. We like the Sirey island area, nice and quiet and there's a very nice temple on the hill here too.

• Sirey Island - More Information
• Sirey Temple




Wat Suwan Kuha Temple

Also called "Buddha Cave Temple" and "that cave with a Buddha in it", Wat Suwan Kuha is a temple built into a cave close to Phang Nga Town, off Phuket Island, and about a 90 minute drive from Phuket Town. Certainly worth a visit, and outside the cave there are lots of monkeys. We have been a few times and I have not seen any monkeys inside the cave. I guess they know the rules.

• Wat Suwan Kuha - More Information




Bang Rong (northeast coast of Phuket)

I remember driving down the small road to Bang Rong pier to eat at the floating restaurant in the mangroves. We'd been before but never seen monkeys. This time - monkeys! We got quite excited - unexpected monkeys are the best. They hang around in the mangroves but also jump around on the roofs of buildings and chew car aerials. We know where *not* to park now. Bang Rong is where you can get a ferry over to Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai Islands too.

• Bang Rong - More Information




Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

Close to Bang Pae Waterfall and not far from the aforementioned Bang Rong, the Gibbon Rehab Project looks after gibbons that have been illegally caught, or kept as pets. Some are released back into the wild. It's illegal to own a gibbon, and if you see gibbons being hawked round the streets for photos, please contact the GRP. Gibbons are apes, not monkeys, I know that .. but want to include the project here, it's worth a visit combined with the waterfall, a jungle hike ....

• Phuket Gibbon Rehab Center - More Information




Related Phuket Blog Posts

Khao Sok National Park
Hiking to the Highest Point in Phuket
Kayaking in the Mangroves
Suggested Phuket Hotels

Read More

Phuket Zoo - Should You Visit?

The last time I mentioned Phuket zoo on the blog was back in 2007, and I wrote "A tourist kid sat with the tiger while his dad took photos. The tiger keeper (a one armed man) poked the tiger with a stick, making him growl and bare his teeth. Would I let my kid sit next to a pissed off tiger? Er.. no."

Seems my memory is short! And I am a hypocrite.



That's me, my daughter and my Mum with the same tiger in 2004 (before the blog existed). I'd forgotten about that earlier visit with the family when we took the tiger photos, watched the shows, bought ice cream for the little girl and quite possibly enjoyed the day! I knew the zoo wasn't all that clean, but most of the animals seemed happy and oh, an orangutan riding a bike and doing maths, hilarious! We went again in 2006, again enjoying things, and justifying the visit as the only opportunity the kids would get to see such animals, and it's right here in Phuket! By then we had a little son too. And we don't have the money for a family holiday to Tanzania.





Feeding a tiger cub? Elephants playing basketball? Brilliant!



I have not been since 2007. Over the years my views on Phuket zoo have changed. I noticed a lot more of the unhappy animals which were probably there in 2004 and 2006, or maybe things got worse? Kids have been since, on school trips. I have no plan to visit again, though maybe I should, just to see for myself. I don't want to say too much bad, since I have not been there for many years.

Oh, and the crocodile show! More fun! Don't think they have lost anyone yet...



Fun or exploitation? I recall the crocs water being very green, I recall elephants chained up, though to be honest - look at the face of the elephant playing basketball, I reckon he looks happy. But .... is this leopard happy?



Is this bear happy?



Given that my last visit was 2007, I wanted to get some updated opinions. So in December 2012 I posted on my Facebook page "I'd like to hear what people think about Phuket zoo". And got a lot of replies. I was hoping for a mixture of opinions - you can read all the replies here, but here's a selection ...

Myself and my daughter came out of there in tears, if places are making money out of animals they should treat the animals humanely..The conditions are horrendous:( I love Phuket and have been 5 times but have told everyone Not to go to the zoo...I don't find it amazing that you beat a crocodile to bleed, and its entertainment, personally I would've found it funny if the croc had of bitten his head off

Terrible. We were there a couple of months back. We were unable to have photos with many of the animals as they were "tired".....more likely drugged. The animal enclosures were dirty, no water and many of the animals were suffering from injuries and were starving. Should be closed down! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone! Many more beautiful sights to see in Phuket

Not a big fan of zoos in general but I was very disturbed by what I saw at Phuket Zoo -- the concept of using animals for entertainment is very outdated, and most of the creatures there looked unhealthy and/or agitated. The tigers being photographed looked zonked out on drugs. It provides no opportunities for visitors to learn anything about wildlife or nature. It's a sad animal prison. Avoid!

(above) Happy Feet?

Been there twice, once with my brother & partner at the time & then again with my parents. Never again, worst experience. Hate the way they treat their animals & charge you so much for it

Oh yeh - as said above - they do charge you so much - it's a 500 Baht entry fee, though locals pay only 80 Baht. And then many people will pay more for tiger photos, snake photos, food to feed the animals etc... plus your taxi.

That poor orung u tang, he looks so sad. The poor monkeys with chains and the poor elephants look so sad to. We hated it there.

(above) At least the toucan looked fairly healthy

Phuket zoo is the only attraction on Phuket that I will never return to. It is a disgrace with animals kept in horrible conditions. It reminds me of pictures of zoos in the west from over a hundred years ago.

It was run down and the animals are not cared for and were all cramped in cages. I have to say though that we had the biggest laugh with the Orangutan who fell in love with my husband and we got some great photos. Even the little monkeys are such funny characters and we loved them but as for the rest of the zoo well ...SHAME!

Well I thought I might get at least a few people saying they had fun, but it really was pretty unanimous. These are all comments by people who have been to the zoo in recent years. I guess the place is still busy with tour groups. And I imagine there are visitors like we were the first time - ooh! a tiger! Oooh! A funny monkey! Wow! A huge snake! You can find a lot more opinions on TripAdvisor. Some are positive and I hear that animal activists post fake bad reviews. I was glad to get the opinions on my Facebook page too. Should you visit? My opinion is that the zoo is obviously not looked after very well, it seems obvious that some animals are treated poorly. Personally I am unlikely to return, though maybe I should, just to get my own view. Anyway, Phuket has so much to see, that unless you have never seen any animals before or never been to a zoo before, why go?

Related Phuket Blog posts

Phuket Bird Park
Phuket Botanic Garden
Phuket Aquarium
Recommended Phuket Hotels

Read More

Sunset at Cape Phromthep

Cape Phromthep is Phuket's southernmost point, a rocky headland surrounded by steep cliffs with views of the ocean and all the islands to the south and east of Phuket. The coastal scenery is quite beautiful, and the area around Phromthep heading towards Rawai Beach to the east or Naiharn Beach to the north is still quiet and undeveloped, making a nice change from the main beaches of Phuket. This little corner of Phuket has always been a favourite of ours. Nothing else to do? Let's take a drive down to Rawai and Phromthep...

Yes, we've stopped at Laem Phromthep countless times. Anytime we have visitors, this area is on the to-do list. But somehow, despite the fact that Phromthep Cape is known as THE Phuket sunset viewpoint, I have hardly ever been there for sunset. You can drive along Rawai beach road past the little seafood restaurants and turn left onto the winding hilly road up to the cape. Now, as I say, Phromthep is THE place to watch the sunset, all the guidebooks and websites say so. Personally I think anywhere by the sea or with a view looking west is good for a sunset :) Don't be too surprised to see a packed car park at Phromthep with a dozen buses and people everywhere. On the road by the car park you find food stalls and souvenir stalls...





(above) if you buy one of these t-shirts I will find you and hurt you.

You walk up the steps by the car park, maybe buy some snacks at a food stall to nibble as the sun sets. At the top of the steps above the cars you have a large open area with great views, and everywhere there are people waiting for the sunset and taking holiday snaps. There are often many local folks up there especially at weekends. Plenty of foreign tourists too. All waiting for that "magical" sunset.



And at Cape Phromthep you get entertained while you wait too! Live music ...



Sometimes the sky is too hazy or cloudy for a spectacular sunset, you have to be lucky. When I took these photos in 2009, the sun did eventually sink behind the hazy horizon, but nevertheless it was a great photo opportunity! I also like sunsets at Kata Beach, or watching the sunset and enjoying the views from the Big Buddha for example, but Phromthep is a very scenic area, and (here's an idea!) you could eat at the Phromthep Cape restaurant or head down to Rawai after sunset for dinner or a drink at Nikitas Bar by the beach for example.





(above) Actually .. rather a nice sunset!

There's a small but interesting shrine at Cape Phromthep with elephant images all around. People were saying prayers as the sun set...



When I took these pics at Cape Phromthep in 2009 there was also a bongo playing / fire dancing combo... We gave our kids some change to put in the hat. My 4 year old son was particularly impressed by the fire dancer. Photos are not great, I had a simple camera in 2009 and no tripod either. One of these days .... need to go again with some better camera gear!





Being a rather rocky headland, there is a lighthouse here .. although boats have GPS and radar these days of course! The lighthouse, built in 1996 for the golden jubilee of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is open to the public - you can climb up some steps inside for a better view (please remove your shoes). Outside is a sunrise / sunset scoreboard:



Note the year "52". The old calendar is still used for official business. In Thailand, 2552 = 2009, which was when the photo was taken. So, here's a view from the lighthouse (click to enlarge), the sun having already all but sunk into the hazy horizon leaving a dull orange glow. Sunset over, time to go home!



Related posts on the Phuket Blog

Walking to the end of Phromthep Cape
Restaurant at Phromthep Cape
Phuket Hills and Viewpoints

(Note : this blog post is originally from 2009, updated September 2013)

Read More