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View all Krabi toursCrystal Lake Kayaking Through Klong Root's Emerald Water in Krabi
Paddle a quiet spring-fed waterway lined with jungle, vines and waterlilies, with clear emerald water, resident kingfishers and a freshwater swim stop.
Highlights
- Paddle a spring-fed channel of clear emerald water
- Jungle walls, waterlilies and hanging vines
- Swim stop in cool freshwater halfway along
- Watch for kingfishers and monitor lizards
- Quiet alternative to Krabi's busy island trips
Full description
Klong Root is a freshwater spring system a short drive inland from Ao Nang, and it is the antidote to a busy day on the islands. The water is fed from underground and stays a startling clear green, with submerged tree roots and small fish visible several metres down.
You paddle a narrow channel that winds between walls of jungle, past waterlilies and hanging vines, in the sort of quiet where you actually hear birds and cicadas rather than outboard motors. Your guide paddles alongside, points out the kingfishers and monitor lizards, and takes the photos that everyone wants but nobody can manage from a kayak.
Halfway along there is a wider basin where you can leave the kayak and swim in the cool spring water, which after a week of salt and sun feels remarkable. The whole thing takes under three hours, so it slots neatly into a morning or a late afternoon.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Meet at Klong Root
Check in at the lake entrance, fit life jackets and cover paddling basics.
Paddle the jungle channel
Kayak the narrow spring-fed waterway between walls of forest.
Swim stop
Leave the kayaks at the open basin for a swim in the cool clear water.
Return paddle
Paddle back to the entrance with time for photos on the way.
Detailed Itinerary
Meet your guide at the Klong Root entrance around 09:00, when the water is at its stillest and the light comes through the canopy at a low angle. Life jackets and a short paddling lesson take about twenty minutes, and no experience is needed since the water is flat and there is no current to fight.
The channel narrows almost immediately and for the next hour you are inside a green tunnel, with waterlilies at the edges and the bottom clearly visible below the hull. Your guide keeps the pace slow, stopping to point out kingfishers, monitors basking on branches and the small fish that shoal around the spring vents.
By about 10:20 you reach the wider basin, tie up and swim in water that is genuinely cold by Thai standards. The return paddle starts around 11:00 and gets you back to the entrance by late morning.
Includes
- Kayak and paddle
- Life jacket and dry bag
- English-speaking local guide
- Entrance fee
- Drinking water
- Photos taken by your guide
- Insurance
Excludes
- Hotel transfers unless added at booking
- Meals
- Towels
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses
Important information
Meeting point
Klong Root Crystal Lake entrance, Nong Thale, Krabi
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
Klong Root is a completely different Krabi from the islands, still and green and quiet apart from birds. The water really is that emerald colour and you can see straight down to the sunken branches. Two and a half hours was enough and the paddling is genuinely easy.
We saw a kingfisher three times and a water monitor sunning itself on a log. Our guide paddled alongside pointing things out we would have floated straight past. The freshwater swim stop at the end was cold and perfect.
Ideal if you want something calm between big island days. No current, no waves, and my ten year old paddled her own half of the kayak with no trouble. Bring insect repellent for the shaded stretches.
Lovely peaceful paddle and very good value at this price. It is short, so do not treat it as a half day, and there were three other groups on the water when we went at eleven. Going early would fix that.
The waterlilies and the vines hanging into the water make it feel like a film set. Swimming in the spring where the water comes up from below is startlingly cold after the heat. A quiet highlight of our week in Krabi.