Chaloem Phra Kiat 80 Phansa Lighthouse

The Chaloem Phra Kiat 80 Phansa Lighthouse is a 48.5-metre, nine-storey octagonal tower built to mark King Bhumibol’s 80th birthday, standing at the end of a 334-metre pier near the mouth of the Kra Buri River in Ranong. It’s free to visit, open roughly 07:00-17:00 daily, and doubles as a working navigational beacon and a public viewpoint.

The lighthouse is part of the Ranong customs department’s pier complex, and the walk out along the pier is half the experience — a straight concrete walkway with almost no shade, so morning is the more comfortable time to go. Near the top, a viewing deck reported to hold around 50 people opens onto a 360-degree view: the Andaman Sea to the west, the Kra Buri estuary running north, and directly across the water, Kawthaung (known locally as Victoria Point), Myanmar’s southernmost town. Fishing boats work the channel below, and on a clear day the forested hills on both sides of the border are visible from the deck.

The lighthouse is often cited as the tallest in Thailand, and its scale is more impressive up close than photos suggest — the white tower is visible from much of central Ranong’s waterfront. Ranong itself sits at the narrowest point of the Thai peninsula, just a few kilometres from Myanmar, and the lighthouse’s cross-border view is really the point of the visit rather than the architecture of the tower itself.

Insider Tip: Go in the late morning before the heat peaks — the pier has no shade, and the view is clearest before afternoon haze builds over the estuary.

Watch out: The lighthouse closes at 17:00, before sunset, so if you’re chasing golden-hour photos over the water, plan for late afternoon rather than dusk.

Pair the visit with the Raksawarin Hot Springs and Public Park a short drive away, or the border crossing and port area, for a half-day loop around Ranong’s waterfront.