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Trek to the Phi Phi summit
 Phi Phi viewpoint is one of the highlights of a visit to Phi Phi Don. While relaxing on amazing Loh Dalum beach, I had been reading on a travel guide about the trek to the view point, from where one can see the whole island. When sunset time approached, I packed my day bag and set to conquer the summit. The walk starts from the far end of Loh Dalum Bay, where the sign for the viewpoint are clearly visible.
The journey up did not look difficult at all, the path winds through the trees and is well trodden and paved most of the way, with plenty of places to rest. Of course, one should not fail to take a bottle of cold water with him, as you will be sweating copiously from the heat and humidity. Or to wear shoes or closed-up sandals (the trek was challenging for my worn out flip flops). The first part of the walk was pretty much uphill, with the track cutting through coconut palm plantations and impressively big cashew nut trees which provided shade; many of their smelly and sticky fruits were rotting on the ground or being eaten by giant red ants the size of a thumb. Stopping to rest would mean getting bitten by lots of mosquitoes, which made the trek faster than expected. It was a brisk 20 minute walk, as I was feeling energetic, but it should take about 30 minutes by the average hiker…
 As soon as I reached the 186 mt high viewpoint I realized that the achievement was worth the walk. By that point I had literally sweated half of my body weight – I was pleased of course to find a little shop which sold cold water. I then sat on the flat rocks which make comfortable seats, surrounded by a natural wildflower garden, and took in the magnificent views: from up there I could see Phi Phi Leh and all of both Tonsai and Loh Dalum bays. Phi Phi is shaped like an oval or a dumbbell, with two white sand beaches on the concave parts, and the rounded ends filled with dense jungles and limestone cliffs. The whole picture is surrounded by turquoise blue waters. It was amazing seeing the red sun disappear behind the cliffs.
On the way down I took the trouble to count the steps: 310 in total, not bad at all. Needless to say, the way back was much easier than the way up, though my legs were sore and I was a bit exhausted and hungry. All in all, the walk through the jungle was exciting and the view from the top, rewarding to say the least.
Many say the best time to reach the viewpoint from a photography point of view is before 10am as the sun will be behind you, bringing out the colour of the sea. And if there's a light shower while you're at the top you might be lucky enough to see a rainbow over Tonsai Village. Alternative walks from the viewpoint include three paths leading to bays on the other side. The middle path takes you to Rantee Beach, about a 20-minute walk, and the paths to the left and right lead to Pak Nam Beach and Ao Toh Koh respectively, both some 45 minutes away. These are not nature trails as such; just tracks used by locals to save on the cost of a longtail to and from Ton Sai. There are some tricky bits, but nothing too hard.
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Phi Phi Island