Bang Kachao: Bangkok's Green Lung, and a Tree House to Sleep In

Tip · Go early. Be on the ferry by 8am and you get the paths while they're still shaded and cool. By noon the heat makes cycling hard work.

The greenest part of Bangkok isn't technically in Bangkok. Bang Kachao sits in a tight loop of the Chao Phraya just south of the city, officially part of Samut Prakan, and from the Khlong Toei side you can see it across the water: a solid wall of palm trees facing a skyline of towers.

What Bang Kachao actually is

The river bends almost all the way around on itself here, and a canal cuts across the narrow neck, so the whole area is an island. You'll also see it spelled Bang Krachao. It covers about 16 square kilometres of palm forest, orchards, small villages and raised walkways. Development rules have kept the tower blocks out, which is why it still looks the way it does while everything around it has been built up. Locals call it the green lung, and in 2006 Time magazine named it Asia's best urban oasis.

The ferry ride is five minutes and the change from the port side is pretty stark. I went on a weekday, rented a bike at the pier, and it was very quiet, with most of the paths to myself. It was a nice escape from the city, and that's the main reason I'd recommend it: you get a proper break without losing half the day in a van to get there.

A pavilion by the lake in Bang Kachao, with Bangkok's towers in the distance. Photo by mohigan, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Getting across

You can't drive in comfortably and you don't need to. Two cross-river ferries do the job, both running roughly 6am to 8pm, and the crossing itself takes about five minutes.

The first leaves from Wat Khlong Toei Nok pier on the Bangkok side. The nearest MRT is Khlong Toei, but the walk from there to the pier is long and not pleasant, so take a Grab for the last stretch. The second leaves from Wat Bang Na Nok pier, which is a short taxi or motorbike ride from BTS Bang Na. This one lands on the Bang Nam Phueng side of the island, closer to the weekend market and the Tree House.

The fare is 10 to 20 baht each way depending on which boat you're put on. If you buy a return ticket, keep it, because you show it again on the way back. Bikes are rented from small shops right by the landing piers for about 40 to 80 baht for the day, a bit more at weekends.

Best for

A half-day by bike, or a quiet night outside the city

Getting there

Ferry from Wat Khlong Toei Nok pier or Wat Bang Na Nok pier, 10–20 baht, about 5 minutes

Bike hire

about 40–80 baht per day at the landing piers

When

Weekday mornings for quiet paths, Saturday or Sunday if you want the market

Where

Bang Kachao, Phra Pradaeng

A morning on the bike

Most people ride a loop through Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park, a botanical park in the north of the island with a lake, shaded paths and a birdwatching tower you can climb to look out over the canopy. Entry is free. From there you pick your way along the raised concrete paths that run through the villages. They're narrow, often a metre or so wide, with no railing and a drop into the mud on either side, and you share them with motorbikes coming the other way. None of it is difficult, but ride slowly and give way early. Three hours is enough to see the main part without rushing.

The bird-watching tower in Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park. Photo by mohigan, CC BY-SA 3.0.

At the weekend the Bang Nam Phueng market opens from about 8am to 2pm on the Bang Na ferry side. It's a local market next to a khlong (canal), with food stalls along the walkways and locals doing their weekend shopping, and it's a good place to stop for lunch before you ride back to the pier. On a weekday it isn't there, and the island is quieter for it.

I did it on my own with a rented bike and a map on my phone, and I think most people will be fine doing the same. The paths do branch a lot though, and it's easy to end up in someone's backyard. If you'd rather have someone else sort the ferry, the bike and the route, I'd go with a private tour led by a local guide. The one below starts at Wat Bang Na Nok pier, takes about three hours, and is rated 4.9 from around 40 reviews.

Stay the night at the Bangkok Tree House

Almost everyone does Bang Kachao as a morning trip and goes back to the city for lunch. Staying overnight is the better version in my opinion. The day visitors leave by late afternoon, the paths go quiet, and you get the next morning, the coolest and best part of the day to ride, without a taxi and a ferry in front of it.

The place to do that is the Bangkok Tree House. It's a small eco hotel on the riverbank in Bang Nam Phueng, with wooden rooms built up among the trees and joined by raised walkways. The rooms have names like the Tree Top Nest and the Bee Hive, and one of them, View With A Room, looks straight onto the river traffic. There's no road to the door. You come in by ferry and bike, or park at one of the nearby temples and walk the last part, which is exactly what makes it feel far from Bangkok, even though it's less than two kilometres from BTS Bang Na in a straight line.

Bikes are there for guests to use, so you don't need to rent one at the pier. It's a very different kind of stay from anything in the city: you're sleeping in the trees by the river rather than in a tower block, and you still get back to central Bangkok in well under an hour. I haven't stayed there myself, but it's the one place I'd point people to if they want a night in Bang Kachao.

Two practical things. The restaurant closes at 6pm and there isn't much open nearby after dark, so eat early or bring something with you. And it's a riverside forest, so bring mosquito repellent. There are only a handful of rooms, so book ahead if you're going on a weekend. One night is enough for most people. I'd put it at the start or the end of a Bangkok stay, as a break between the airport and the city or as a quiet last night before you fly.

When to go

Bang Kachao works year-round, but the cool season from November to February is the most comfortable time to cycle. In the hot months, March to May, plan to be off the bike by 11am. In the rainy season the island is at its greenest, and the usual pattern of a heavy afternoon storm means mornings are still fine. The paths get slippery when wet, so slow down.

If you liked the sound of this, Koh Kret is a similar half day on a car-free island north of the city, busier and with a weekend market. If you're building the rest of your Bangkok stay around this, our guide to Bangkok without the tourist traps has more places the tour buses skip, and the Bangkok neighbourhood guide helps you pick where to base yourself for the other nights.

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