Magic garden on Koh Samui - Buddhas and bungalows in a mysterious forest
My visit to Magic Garden lasted twice. The first time I was there, I was in a city alone and almost in darkness. We left for closing Paradise Park, and I decided to drop by to see what kind of magic garden this is. The jungle, buildings enveloped in lianas, mossy figures, not a soul around, strange sounds, all this created a special atmosphere of unknown, as in films about the lost world. No wonder the common people call this place the Mysterious Garden of Buddhas.
Since my camera sat down on the first visit, I had to go a second time, and in the daylight I wanted to see everything. True, even now I was not very lucky, because it was pouring like a bucket. But on this day I combined the trip with visa extension to Immigration, because go in the same direction.
Magic Garden
What is this garden? This is a ravine with a mountain stream flowing in the bottom of it. And once upon a time, a certain owner of a durian plantation decided in his old age (at 77!) To master a new occupation - stone figures. And what he did, we can just see now. The ravine is small, but his creative hand was attached to almost every square meter. For 14 years he was doing what he loved, so much so that no one knew about it. And after his death, his descendants found a ravine and opened access to everyone for a nominal fee. Not a bad business he left as a legacy.
It was a popular version on the Internet, but how it was actually the story is silent. It is believed that the park was made not by one person, but by several, since the old man alone could not physically cope with heavy sand concrete.
Magic garden on Koh Samui
Ta Nim Waterfall - mini waterfall
Romantic landscape with a gazebo
The riverbed and feet sticking out of the stone
Almost everything is covered with moss
How in the jungle without cobwebs
The central figures of the main composition
Musicians in the garden
Downstream a stone with a hole and a smiling demon
Demon get closer
Many small and not very details
The eye is made of glass
Almost every stone is cut by the hand of a master
The storylines are unknown to me, so I just walked and looked at the figures of people, deities, animals, birds. There is even a mushroom and an ancient man. I suppose that the parts of the figures no longer exist, because time is relentless. I do not know if they are planning to restore something, but fragments of figures come across.
Sculpture fragments
Some figures are completely dilapidated
Ancient man and mushroom
Either deities, or just beasts
An ordinary girl of not quite Asian appearance
Two-storey concrete houses, built for tired travelers who came here, fit very well into this landscape. True, they were almost swallowed up by vines and other vegetation, but this, on the contrary, adds a certain mystery. It feels like I got into fantasy or stumbled upon an abandoned ancient city of some Maya. There would be some other pyramid to complete the image ...
Ancient city street
Houses for weary travelers
Stairway to the unknown
Vines entangled everything around, which gives a special mystery to the place.
Of course, this garden is not as colorful as Buddha Park Sala Keoku or temple of Hell and Paradise, and for his cursory view of this Samui attraction, 20 minutes will be enough. But look at this object from the other side. Once it was just the bed of the most ordinary river, and here once, after a number of years, we see a whole park. I can't imagine what kind of work was invested, even if it was done by a team of workers, and not just one person. The attraction is practically from scratch, and so well blended into the local landscape.
In a small niche there is a figure of the author of the park, so he immortalized himself.
Author Magic Garden
This is how the riverbed once looked
How to get there and how much does it cost to enter
Entrance 80 baht per person, free for children.
There is a souvenir shop and a small shop near the entrance..
The magic garden is open from morning until dark. Actually, the caretakers live nearby, you can ask them to open it in the evening (I did this the first time).
It's easier to get here by your own transport: rented scooter or car. But you can order a transfer in advance, or take a pick-up at the place that is on the road, for those who come on foot.
Magic Garden is located almost in the center of the island, so it is hardly worth settling nearby. But if necessary, you can search for hotels nearby (and not only) using RoomGuru. You can also see our personally compiled directory of houses on Koh Samui and detailed review best hotels in Koh Samui.
There are two roads leading to the Magic Garden from the roundabout. It is more convenient to go on one if you are coming from Lamai / Chaweng, on the other if you are coming from Bang Po / Nathon. But I would advise you to go along the one that is closer to Nathon, there is better coverage, there are a minimum of turns, and in general, it seems to me, it is easier to get there, clearer. You just go upstairs without turning anywhere. When you pass the turn to Paradise Park (there will be a sign), then after a few hundred meters the main road will turn sharply to the left (under 90 degrees). Here in the place of this very turn, there will be a small asphalt path to the right (one lane wide), along which you need to go further. Somewhere after 500 meters there will be a sign and a turn to Magic Garden.
Turn, if you go from Lamai. The sign is not very visible from the ring road
Turn, if driving from Nathon. The sign is not visible, but you can navigate the Chevrolet salon
Turn to Tarnim Magic Garden
Namuang waterfalls, Paradise and Buddha parks
Waterfalls Namuang, Paradise and Buddha parks: