Climbing the karst peaks of Wat Tham Seua near Krabi
Summary
Just outside of Krabi Town you have the wide ranging hill temple complex of Wat Tham Seua. It’s worth checking out for the views for miles around after what is a gruelling steep 1,237 step climb to the top of the impossibly sharp limestone karst formation. It also has some nearby monkeys to play with and some pounding waterfalls that you can jump around in
It’s certainly worth a visit if you are passing through Krabi, which many do as it is a central transport hub when travelling from the east to west coast of Thailand. But I wouldn’t prioritise this over time nearby in Railay climbing or kayaking around the limestone cliffs by the beach (which looks to be the real highlight of Krabi), nor over Thailand’s southern islands, such as Koh Samui and Koh Panghan on the east and Koh Phi-Phi and Phuket on the west
highlights
#1 Beautiful views from top with the set of temples in their imposing position over the surrounding area
#2 The classic feeling of accomplishment as you reach the top of the 1,237 gruelling steps
#3 Playing with the monkeys and, as per usual, trying not to get robbed or bitten
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Short and Steep Climbs around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone