Krabi/Things to do/ nature
The Emerald Pool
A warm spring-fed pool in lowland rainforest at Khlong Thom, an hour from Ao Nang, inside a wildlife sanctuary rather than a national park.
What we checked, 18 September 2026
Checked on 18 September 2026. The wildlife sanctuary schedule is separate from the national park fee table we can read, and no departmental page for this sanctuary would load, so no confirmed figure is published here. The 400 baht in circulation has two independent-ish sources, news reporting of a 2023 increase and an operator's own listing, which is why it is quoted rather than ignored. We have not been.
Verified via. OpenStreetMap records the Emerald Pool as a tourism attraction at 7.9251, 99.2682, linked to Wikidata Q136933367. The site lies within Khao Phra Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary under the Department of National Parks, whose own pages could not be retrieved on 18 September 2026.
Admission
No authority figure could be obtained. The pool sits in Khao Phra Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary, which the Department of National Parks runs on a different fee schedule from national parks, and none of the department's pages would load for us. Thai news reporting on a pricing row put the foreign adult rate at 400 baht from February 2023, and a tour operator's own Klook listing states admission of 400 baht for an adult and 200 for a child. Both point the same way, and neither is the department, so we are not printing it as the price. Budget 400 baht in cash.
The Emerald Pool, Sa Morakot, is a shallow basin of warm spring water in lowland rainforest at Khlong Thom, about an hour east of Ao Nang by road. The colour is real and depends on the light and the season. A short boardwalk leads to it through forest that is a genuinely important habitat, which is why the land is a wildlife sanctuary rather than a park.
Why this page has no confirmed price. Wildlife sanctuaries sit on a different fee schedule from national parks, and while the department publishes its national park rates as open data, we could not reach anything at all for this sanctuary. What we have instead is Thai news coverage of a row over an increase, which put the foreign adult rate at 400 baht from February 2023, and the extra-fees section of a tour operator’s own listing, which states 400 baht for an adult and 200 for a child. Those agree with each other. Neither is the department. Take 400 baht per adult in cash and treat it as a good estimate rather than our figure.
The Blue Pool is a separate thing and often shut. Sa Nam Phut, the Blue Pool, is a deeper spring further along the trail. It is not for swimming, it has been closed to visitors in some periods, and it is not what your ticket is for. If it matters to you, ask at the gate before you walk in.
Not to be confused with the hot springs. The Hot Springs Waterfall is a different site, a couple of kilometres away, with a different operator and a separate ticket. Most day tours do both, which is where the confusion comes from.
What we have not done. Been. Everything here is the map record, the reporting and an operator’s own terms.
Best for
A swim in water the colour of the name, if you get there before the coaches
Skip if
You want it to yourself, or you are counting on the Blue Pool, which is often roped off
Where it actually is
Khlong Thom, Krabi 81120
Krabi
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.View larger map
More in Krabi
- The Four Islands day trip — water
- The Hong Islands day trip — water
- The jungle day tour: Tiger Cave, Emerald Pool and the hot springs — nature
- Phi Phi from Krabi — water