Secret Buddha Garden

Nim Thongsuk was a durian farmer who began building statues on his hillside land in 1976, when he was in his seventies, and continued until his death in 1999 at ninety-one. What he made is scattered down a steep wooded slope around a stream: Buddhas, deities, animals, and a large number of human figures in ordinary poses - people sitting, standing, working, an old man who is generally taken to be Nim himself - in concrete, weathering and moss-covered, with paths and steps between them. It is called the Magic Garden or the Secret Buddha Garden and it is genuinely one person's project rather than a commissioned attraction. The access is the difficulty: the track up from the ring road is very steep, rough and rutted, and rented scooters and ordinary cars regularly fail on it or crash coming down - four-wheel drive or a hired driver is the sensible option, and the accident rate on Samui's roads is high.

What you actually see

• The concrete figures - Buddhas, deities and ordinary people down a wooded slope.
• The old man statue - generally taken to be Nim Thongsuk himself.
• The setting - a stream and steps through weathered, moss-covered work.
• The single-handed build - one farmer's project from 1976 to 1999.

When to go

December to April for Samui's driest weather; the track is worse in the rains. An hour covers the garden. Go with a four-wheel drive or a driver.

Honest expectations

The access track is steep, rough and dangerous - scooters and ordinary cars fail on it and crashes are common. Small charge. The garden is compact and takes an hour. Slippery underfoot after rain.

Nearby

Na Muang waterfalls are close in the interior; Lamai and Nathon are on the coast.