Sunset at Cape Phromthep

Cape Phromthep is Phuket's southernmost point, a rocky headland surrounded by steep cliffs with views of the ocean and all the islands to the south and east of Phuket. The coastal scenery is quite beautiful, and the area around Phromthep heading towards Rawai Beach to the east or Naiharn Beach to the north is still quiet and undeveloped, making a nice change from the main beaches of Phuket. This little corner of Phuket has always been a favourite of ours. Nothing else to do? Let's take a drive down to Rawai and Phromthep...

Yes, we've stopped at Laem Phromthep countless times. Anytime we have visitors, this area is on the to-do list. But somehow, despite the fact that Phromthep Cape is known as THE sunset viewpoint, I have never been there for sunset.. until yesterday. We drive along Rawai beach road past the little seafood restaurants and turned left onto the winding hilly road up to the cape. Now, as I say, Phromthep is THE place to watch the sunset, all the guidebooks and websites say so. I was not too surprised to see a packed car park, a dozen buses and people everywhere. On the road by the carpark you find food stalls and souvenir stalls...





We walked up the steps, stopping for the kids to much some BBQ pork and sticky rice. At the top of the steps above the cars you have a large open area with great views, and everywhere there were people waiting for the sunset and taking holiday snaps. Most of the visitors seemed to be locals, being that this was a Saturday, a day to relax and enjoy living in Phuket. A fair number of foreign tourists too. All waiting for that magical sunset.





The sun was already low in the sky when we arrived. I had a feeling that the sky was too hazy for a spectacular sunset, and was proved right. The sun did eventually sink behind the hazy horizon, but nevertheless it was a great photo opportunity! I would say there are better sunset views. I prefer the sunset at Kata Beach, or watching the sunset and views from Buddha Mountain for example, but Phromthep is a very scenic area, and after sunset you could head down to Rawai for dinner or a drink at Nikitas Bar on the beach for example.





There's a small but interesting temple at Cape Phromthep with elephant images all around. People were saying prayers as the sun set...



And at Cape Phromthep you get entertained too! There was live music...



And a bongo playing / fire dancing combo... We gave our kids some change to put in the hat. My 4 year old son was particularly impressed by the fire dancer. I kept wishing I had a better camera... coming soon!





Being a rather rocky headland, there is a lighthouse here. The lighthouse, built in 1996 for the golden jubilee of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is open to the public - you can climb up some steps inside for a better view (please remove your shoes). Outside is a sunset scoreboard:



Note the year "52". The old calendar is still used for official business. In Thailand it's 2552. So, here's a view from the lighthouse (click to enlarge), the sun having already all but sunk into the hazy horizon. Sunset over, time to go home!