Secret Buddha Garden

Nim Thongsuk was a durian farmer who began building statues on his land on Pom hill, also called Khun Nim peak, one of the highest on Samui, in 1976, when he was seventy-seven, and continued until his death 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 one person's project rather than a commissioned attraction. His tomb is on the site, a short way up a path from the angel figures. The road up leaves Route 4169 between Hua Thanon and Na Mueang, opposite Wat Khunaram, and is steep in places.

Background

The Secret Buddha Garden, also called the Magic Garden or Heaven's Garden, is a private sculpture park atop Pom Mountain, or Khun Nim Peak, one of the highest peaks of Ko Samui in Thailand's Surat Thani Province. It was the work of a retired durian farmer, Khun Nim Thongsuk, who began it in 1976, at the age of 77, and kept working on it until he died at 91. Its statues show the Buddha and other subjects from Thai Buddhism, birds, snakes and other animals, the founder's parents, and the founder hand in hand with his father. The main group is a set of angels, with a group of musicians, and Khun Nim's tomb lies a short way up a path from the angels. Waterfalls run through the garden.

Source: Wikipedia, "Secret Buddha Garden"

Highlights

• 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 until his death.

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.

Before you go

The access road is steep in places. 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.

Key facts