Ko Pha Ngan Island

Ko Pha Ngan Island

Ko Pha Ngan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in South East Thailand , and is located in Surat Thani Province . It is famous for the full moon party at Haad Rin Beach and as a backpackers destination . Ko Pha Ngan has two sister islands : the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north .
Name of Ko Pha Ngan comes from the word ' Ngan ' , meaning ' sand bar ' in the southern dialect , because there are many sand bars offshore around the island . Ko Pha Ngan has been a long time favorite of past kings of Thailand . Specifically Rama V , or Chulalongkorn visited Ko Pha Ngan 14 times during his reign . The Bronze Drum of Dong Son Culture ( 500 - 100BC ) that was found on Ko Samui in 1977 is evidence that there were settlements in Ko Samui , Ko Pha Ngan , and their island of more than two thousand years ago . Some historians and archaeologists believe that the first group who migrated to Ko Pha Ngan were the Muslim sea Gypsies ( Pygmy , Semung , and Proto - Malay ) who traveled by boat from the Malay Peninsula . However , currently there are some Muslims who live on the island .
During the last century, the population of the island continues to grow , the first living from the sea and land , coconut farm , then tin mining also became part of the economy . In the 1970s the mining industry faltered and eventually subside over the next decade as tourism holds . Now the island is primarily a tourist destination , but fishermen and coconut farmers are still a big part of the local economy .
Due to the topography of permanent resident based around the coastline while the interior generally inaccessible mountains . More than half the island designated as a National Park and Koh Phangan has over 80Km2 of pristine rain forest with diverse flora and fauna . It is also regarded as a spiritual place with various Buddhist temples around the island and spa , meditation retreats and growing industry .
Koh Phangan currently only has one international primary school called 'The Panya School ' which is located in Baan Tai . The Panya School is a private elementary school that follows the British national curriculum for girls and boys aged 5 to 12 years .
Ko Pha Ngan prominently in Alex Garland 1996 novel The Beach and is also mentioned in the 2006 song Magick by the new rave band Klaxons ' ( but probably [ original research ? ] More as a reference to the 1996 novel The Beach than the island itself ) .
World famous Full Moon Party is a dance music festival sets monthly Haad Rin Nok beach is scheduled every month on the full moon . This event is particularly interesting feature electronic music and anywhere from 40,000 party - goers in normal and up to 1.000000 in the high season ( December to March ) . Recently, steps have been taken to make Ko Pha Ngan into a more family-friendly tourist destination , promoting a wealth of natural attractions Island and also increase the presence of police , block roads with stop and search procedures police patrol party regular and undercover .