Windmill Viewpoint

Windmill Viewpoint is a hilltop lookout between Ya Nui and Nai Harn beaches in southern Phuket, in Rawai subdistrict. The white wind turbine on the hill is visible from some distance along the coast road. The site belongs to the Promthep Alternative Energy Station run by EGAT, Thailand’s electricity authority, which has operated wind and solar equipment at Phromthep since 1983. Entry is free.

The view is the reason to stop. Ya Nui Beach sits in a small bay almost directly below, a strip of sand closed in by rocks at one end. Koh Man, a low forested island, lies across the water, and the headland that ends at Laem Phromthep runs off to the south. Nai Harn Beach curves away to the north. A covered sala has seating, and a few vendors sell drinks and jewellery. The car park is small.

Watch out: the final approach is narrow, and most visitors arrive by scooter or taxi. Rental vans and tour coaches struggle, which is a large part of why it stays quiet.

It faces west over open Andaman sea, so it works for sunset in the same way as the cape, minus the crowd. Laem Phromthep is about 1 km south and fills with tour buses in the last hour of light. Here you are more likely to share the railing with a handful of people. In the rainy season, May to October, the sea below is rougher and cloud can hide the horizon, so the clear mornings and dry-season evenings give the best views.

Combine it with a south-coast loop: Kata Karon Viewpoint on the way down, Nai Harn for a swim, then Laem Phromthep for the lighthouse and shrine. For the wider area, see Rawai.

Insider Tip: use this hill for sunset and save Laem Phromthep for the middle of the day, when the cape is calmer and the lighthouse and shrine are easy to walk around.