Yoga and Wellness in Krabi

Krabi, on southern Thailand’s west coast, is famous for its breathtaking scenic views, beaches and islands. These include the famous Phi Phi island group, used as a location for the filming of Leonardo di Caprio’s movie, The Beach. It’s a spectacular backdrop for a thriving yoga and wellness scene that permeates the whole province.

Reaching Krabi is easy enough with direct flights from the UK to nearby Phuket, or via a 1.5-hour transfer via Bangkok. And if you want that immediate exotic experience stepping off the plane, then this is the place to come. With its sheer cliffs, dense mangrove forests, and beautiful, sandy beaches it’s a natural paradise that’s clearly conducive to all things health and healing.

That includes some incredible spots to do yoga, as well as indulge in fun, local sports like Muay Thai boxing.

Wareerak Hot Springs & Wellness (wareerak.co.th) is one place not to miss, with diverse yoga schedules and other programmes (for sleep, stress or detox) built around the centre’s amazing natural thermal baths.

The yoga retreats here can be structured over several days, or a week, depending on how much time you have available. Expect expert consultations, healthy food, juices and daily access to the hot springs, alongside your yoga and meditation classes. The massage and body treatments on Wareerak’s signature programme — homemade organic scrubs, hot oil therapy, and much more — are truly blissful.

Na Sook Wellness Resort (nasookresort. com), which is all about experiencing happiness in the here and now, is another perfect spot to roll out your mat. As well as yoga, aqua yoga, mindfulness and meditation practices, it is renowned for the herbal and medicinal plans that grow in the gardens nearby. In Thai culture and among Thai therapists, food and medicine are one and the same. It makes a perfect venue to experience Thai cooking, drawing on some of the organic produce grown outside. The farm-to-table salads here are simply the best.

And no visit to Krabi is complete without a Thai mud bath, where the earth’s natural minerals plastered all over you can do wonders for your skin. Ban Tham Sua is an ecotourism site with a vast array of activities, from cycling to kayaking. Here, you can access Rai Preda Homestay, where a quick long-tail boat ride will connect you with the mud beach nearby to experience a cooling mud spa. It’s a great way to spend some time and cool down in the heat and humidity, while the mud contains minerals that help to cleanse and purify the skin — plus it’s a lot of fun.

While Krabi is perhaps not as well known as some other parts of Thailand, including Phuket, one of the main entry points, it’s well worth making the visit to explore this pristine province with its photogenic sunsets, often accompanied by spectacular displays of lightning that you can enjoy from the comfort of your beachside bar.

As you’d expect in Thailand the food is phenomenal and there are bustling night markets to explore, plus boat trips out to the islands providing a limitless itinerary if you choose to leave the mainland. Ao Nang is the major launch point for trips to the isolated beaches of Phra Nang Cape, where the famous former hippie enclave of Railay Beach is located.

The 70s hippie era may be long gone, but for all yoga explorers seeking to roll out their mat in a lush, eco-friendly and IG-worthy setting, Krabi is hard to beat.