The dry season
November to April: dry, clear air and the widest views from the tower, best early in the morning before the haze builds.
Khao Khad
Area · Wichit
The wooded hill in the middle of the Cape Panwa peninsula, in Wichit: a free viewing tower on top and the village of Ban Bo Rae on the Chalong Bay shore below.
Khao Khad in photographs
- Views
- Free 360-degree tower
- Quiet
- Fewer people than the sunset spots
- Walking
- About 200 steps to the top
- Parking
- Car park and toilets below the tower
- Food
- Seafood restaurants by the mangroves
- Access
- Car or scooter; no public transport
About Khao Khad
Khao Khad is the hill in the middle of the Cape Panwa peninsula, a 15 to 20 minute drive south-east of Phuket Town. Its top carries Khao Khad View Tower; its western foot reaches the shore of Chalong Bay at the village of Ban Bo Rae. Our area runs from the hilltop down to that shore. Ao Yon and Khao Khad Beach, to the south, are on our Cape Panwa page, and Ao Makham's bay lies to the east.
The tower was built by the Wichit municipality: an eight-sided concrete tower with a spiral staircase of about 200 steps above a car park with toilets and a drinks stall. Signboards at the top name the islands and bays in view, from Chalong Bay and the Big Buddha to Phuket Town, Koh Sire and Cape Panwa, and on a clear day Phang Nga Bay. It is free, open from about 06:00 to 18:00, and far quieter than the island's famous sunset spots.
Below the hill, Ban Bo Rae is a village of homes with a community centre and a small market on Soi Hat Tawan Ron, close to the Chalong Bay shore. There are no hotels or bars on the hill itself; the seafood restaurants on the mangrove creeks just north-west, such as Chaiyo and the MICHELIN-listed Mor Mu Dong, are a few minutes' drive away.
The hills between Khao Khad and Ao Makham hold an old village grazing reserve. In July 2026 Phuket's governor ordered an urgent check of the public-land certificate being drawn up for about 2,000 rai of the Ao Makham–Khao Khad reserve, across villages Moo 6, 7 and 8; the map that had circulated was only a surveyor's draft.
What is good about Khao Khad
What you see
Signboards name the view all round: Chalong Bay and the Big Buddha, Phuket Town, Koh Sire, Cape Panwa and the small islands off Ao Yon; on clear days Phang Nga Bay.
The climb
About 200 steps up the tower's spiral staircase from the car park; short, but hot in the middle of the day.
At the foot of the tower
A large car park, toilets and usually someone selling cold drinks; nothing at the top.
Few visitors
Far fewer people than at the island's famous sunset spots; mornings are the quietest and the clearest.
Seafood nearby
Chaiyo Seafood keeps its catch in a mangrove stream off Sakdidet Road; Mor Mu Dong, a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, serves southern Thai seafood in pavilions by the Mu Dong canal.
Forest towards Ao Yon
The wooded slopes south of the hill hold Ton Ao Yon Waterfall, a small fall known mostly to locals, and Tarzan Adventure's rope park.
Things to do at Khao Khad
Khao Khad. Khao Khad. Khao Khad.
Nature
Khao Khad View Tower
Climb about 200 steps for a free 360-degree view over Chalong Bay, Phuket Town and the islands; open from about 06:00 to 18:00.
Food and drink
Crab at Chaiyo Seafood
Seafood by the kilo from a mangrove stream off Sakdidet Road; black crab costs 480 to 590 THB a kilo, about two large crabs.
Food and drink
Mor Mu Dong
Rustic pavilions in the mangroves by the Mu Dong canal and southern Thai seafood from live tanks; a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand.
Food and drink
A long lunch at Palai
A big open-air seafood restaurant on the Palai shore of Chalong Bay, with live tanks at the front and longtail boats beyond the mangroves; opens at 09:00.
Family
Tarzan Adventure
A small rope park on a forested hill above the sea, with rope bridges and zip lines suited to first-timers; daily 09:00 to 18:00.
Nature · monsoon months
Ton Ao Yon Waterfall
A small, little-known fall just south of the hill, reached by driving past Ao Yon; no gate and no fee, daylight only.
Family
Arapaima fishing park
A stocked lake in Chalong where children can catch fish bigger than themselves; half a day for one angler costs 2,500 THB, rods and bait included.
Culture
Wat Thepnimit
A local temple north of the hill, founded by villagers in 1937, with a golden chedi, a white pagoda and a meditating Buddha. Free.
Swimming
Swim at Ao Yon
The nearest swimming beach, a sheltered bay south of the hill that usually stays calm in the monsoon.
Shopping
Ban Bo Rae's market
A small community market in the village on Soi Hat Tawan Ron, listed on Google Maps as a seafood market.
A day at Khao Khad
The view is clearest and the steps coolest at the start of the day. Khao Khad View Tower
Tarzan Adventure opens its trails on the forested slope towards Ao Yon. Tarzan Adventure Phuket
Lunch in Mor Mu Dong's pavilions by the canal. Mor Mu Dong
Ten minutes south, the sheltered bay is the nearest place to swim.
The west-facing shore at Khao Khad Beach looks over Chalong Bay towards the Big Buddha's hill.
Dinner at Chaiyo Seafood, where the catch waits in the stream. Chaiyo Seafood
Places in Khao Khad
Our picks
Khao Khad View Tower
Viewpoint · Khao KhadA viewing tower on top of one of the highest and most remote hills of Phuket, above Cape Panwa; the guide also calls it Panwa Viewpoint.
Tarzan Adventure Phuket
Adventure park · Cape PanwaA small rope park on a forested hill on Cape Panwa overlooking the sea, suited to first-timers.
Ton Ao Yon Waterfall
Waterfall · Cape PanwaA little-known waterfall on the Cape Panwa peninsula, visited mostly by a few locals.
Chaiyo Seafood
Seafood restaurantA seafood restaurant by a mangrove stream on Sakdidet Road near Phuket Town, keeping its live seafood in the stream itself.
Mor Mu Dong
Restaurant · Chalong BayA seafood restaurant of rustic pavilions in the mangroves beside the Mu Dong canal in Chalong, named after its founder, Mor; a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand.
Palai Seafood
Seafood restaurant · Chalong BayA long-established seafood restaurant on the Palai shore of Chalong, with a big open-air dining room over the bay.
Arapaima Fishing Park Phuket
Family attraction · Chalong BayA stocked fishing lake in Chalong, on Soi Palai 2, where children can catch fish bigger than themselves.
Ruamrudee International School Phuket
Chalong BayThe Phuket campus of Ruamrudee International School, a Bangkok school founded in 1957, in Chalong between forest and sea.
Wat Thepnimit
Buddhist templeA local temple in Wichit, near the subdistrict office and not far from Phuket Town, founded in 1937 by villagers on former rubber-plantation land.
- The zone
- A home and its rent
- A place, as the list numbers it
Homes and places on the map
Buddhist temple
Viewpoint
Waterfall
Seafood restaurant
Restaurant
Seafood restaurant
Adventure park
Family attraction
Homes in Khao Khad
Village houses and small estates in Ban Bo Rae and along the hill roads, with villas on the slopes towards Ao Yon. Phanason Villa, a 602-house estate finished in 2017 just north of Bo Rae, sold from about 3.7 million THB in October 2026; one-bedroom rents across Chalong and Wichit ran 13,000–28,000 THB a month (July 2026).
3 homes for rent in Khao KhadKhao Khad through the year
The monsoon months
May to October: showers and cloud can hide the far islands, but the tower stays open and quieter still, and the small waterfall nearby runs best.
Khao Khad with children
A short, cheap outing for children: the tower's stairs and its view, a beginners' rope park on the slope and the Phuket Aquarium a short drive south on Cape Panwa. Hold small hands on the stairs and the open deck.
- About 200 steps up; a drinks stall waits at the foot.
- Tarzan Adventure suits children trying a rope course for the first time.
- At the Arapaima fishing park children can land fish bigger than themselves.
- Ruamrudee International School Phuket is about a kilometre west, in Chalong.
- Ao Yon, ten minutes south, is the nearest calm water for a swim.
Getting to Khao Khad and parking
- From the airport, by car
- 40–55 min
- From Patong, with the traffic
- 35–50 min
- From Phuket Town
- 15–20 min
Khao Khad is reached from Sakdidet Road, the road from Phuket Town to Cape Panwa: before the cape a side road climbs to the tower, with small signs all the way. There is no public transport, so come by car, scooter or taxi; Phuket Town is 15 to 20 minutes away.
- By car. Take Sakdidet Road towards Cape Panwa and follow the small signs up the steep side road to the car park; the Ao Yon–Khao Khad road also climbs to it from the south.
- By scooter. The easiest way up; the last stretch is steep.
- Grab and taxis. Taxis and ride apps come up, but nothing waits at the top: book the ride down.
Parking. A large free car park at the foot of the tower, with toilets and a drinks stall.
Who will love Khao Khad, and who will not
Will love it
- Anyone who wants a panorama without the crowds.
- Day-trippers to Cape Panwa adding a free view on the way.
- Walkers who like a short, steep climb with a reward.
- Families after a cheap outing with stairs to climb and a rope park nearby.
- Residents of Chalong and Wichit, ten minutes away, for an early-morning view.
Will not
- Visitors who cannot manage about 200 steps: there is no other way up.
- Anyone after nightlife: there is none on the hill.
- Swimmers: the hill has no beach; Ao Yon is ten minutes south.
Tips for Khao Khad
Go early
The tower opens at about 06:00; the morning light is clearest and the steps coolest.
Check the closing time
The council gives 18:00, a 2026 guide 18:30: around sunset time, so do not plan on watching the sun go down from the top.
Watch for the small signs
The turn-off from Sakdidet Road is easy to miss; small signs mark the way up.
Bring water
Drinks are sold at the foot of the tower, not at the top.
Book your ride down
Taxis do not wait at the car park.
Combine it with Cape Panwa
The aquarium, Ao Yon and Panwa House are 10 to 15 minutes further south.
Crab is sold by weight
At Chaiyo, a kilo of black crab, about two large crabs, costs 480 to 590 THB.
Recently changed
- July 2026
The governor ordered an urgent check of the public-land certificate being drawn up for about 2,000 rai of the Ao Makham–Khao Khad grazing reserve (Moo 6, 7 and 8); the map that circulated was a draft.
Questions about Khao Khad
Where is Khao Khad?
On the Cape Panwa peninsula in Wichit, south-east of Phuket Town: a hill between Chalong Bay and Ao Makham, 15 to 20 minutes' drive from the town centre.
Is Khao Khad View Tower free?
Yes. The Wichit municipality built it and charges nothing; the car park and toilets at its foot are free too.
When is Khao Khad View Tower open?
From about 06:00 to 18:00 according to the council; one 2026 guide gives 18:30. Mornings are clearest.
How many steps does the tower have?
About 200, up a spiral staircase; the climb is short and manageable for most people.
Can you watch the sunset from Khao Khad?
Only just, if at all: the tower closes around sunset time. For the sunset, the west-facing shore at Khao Khad Beach or Cape Panwa Viewpoint are better.
How do you get to Khao Khad without a car?
By taxi or ride app, or on a rented scooter. No bus or songthaew goes up, and nothing waits at the top, so book the ride down.
What happened to the Ao Makham–Khao Khad grazing land in 2026?
In July 2026 the governor ordered an urgent check of the public-land certificate being drawn up for about 2,000 rai of the old village grazing reserve across Moo 6, 7 and 8; the map that circulated was only a draft.