Bang Berd Royal Development Project

A protected sand dune running more than 10 km along Chumphon’s coast, and the royal-initiated project set up to conserve it, sit in Pak Khlong subdistrict of Pathio district — part of Chumphon province, not Surat Thani despite what older listings claim. The Bang Berd dune (also spelled Bang Boet) was built by wind and sand deposition over centuries, rising 10-20 metres above a crescent-shaped bay and covering more than 2,000 rai (about 790 acres) — one of the largest dune systems in the country, and rare enough on Thailand’s coastline that researchers still study it as a natural buffer against storm surge and erosion.

The Chumphon Royal Development Project, established under King Bhumibol Adulyadej, manages the dune and the forest mosaic around it: peat swamp, beach forest, moist and dry evergreen forest, and mixed forest running into an agroforestry system planted according to the king’s own guidance on combining conservation with usable land. It’s a working conservation area rather than a demonstration farm — the interest here is the dune ecosystem and coastal forest, not crop plots.

Khao Din Sor, a modest hill within the project area, gives the best view — a lookout over Chumphon’s bay and the open gulf beyond the dune. In the late rainy season it doubles as a raptor-watching spot, as migratory hawks pass along this stretch of coast on their way south. The dune’s Thai name, Bang Boet (“place of bombs”), dates to World War II, when Allied forces used the coastline as a bombing target; a working fishing jetty, Bang Boet Fish Marketing, still operates near the dune’s edge and is the easiest reference point if you’re asking locals for directions.

Insider Tip: Climb the dune itself in the late afternoon — the wind-rippled sand catches long shadows and the crescent bay opens up below, without the midday heat that makes the open ridge exhausting to cross.

Visitor infrastructure is basic — this is a conservation site with a fishing community attached, not a resort beach, so bring your own water and sun protection. The dune sits roughly 25 km from Chumphon airport, and Thailand’s tourism authorities have flagged the area for further development as an alternative to more crowded southern beaches, so expect facilities to expand in coming years.