[Updated 17 June 2025]
The Krabi Urban Forest Walkway was named the “Mangrove Walkway” in Krabi Town along the river for years before they renovated and changed the name.
This is a city-managed park that is ideal for nature lovers – especially bird watchers! There are dozens of species of birds to be found here, especially in the morning.
It’s hard to take photos because the trees are so dense, but it’s a relaxing walk and nice way to spend a morning. Wear mosquito spray, they are ravenous here!
Krabi Urban Forest Walkway Info
What Is It?
This is a raised concrete walkway above the mangrove roots and mud that show up during low-tide. This is a brackish water area that is affected by moon tides.
Open Hours: 24 hours, but realistically it isn’t safe after dark when teenagers on drugs are often there.
Cost: Free
Length: 526 meters (1726 ft.)
Mangrove Area: 500 x 200m (10,000+ Square Meters) and that’s just for the area around the boardwalk. There are hundreds of thousands of square meters of mangroves just in this area.
Purpose: Tourist area to walk through nature and see birds, gliding lizards, mudskippers, colorful crabs, snakes. Locals exercise here and fish at the end pier.
Cautions: Snakes on boardwalk sometimes, aggressive monkeys. Nights not safe. Fake bird tour guys at end of boardwalk.
What Wildlife Can You See at the Urban Forest Walkway?
On most walks you will see just mangrove trees, maybe a bird or two if you are lucky, and some mud crabs and mud skippers on the mud.
Aggressive Monkeys
Caution! There is a pack of aggressive crab-eating macaque monkeys on this trail. They have attacked people. Here are some tips to avoid making the monkeys angry.
Birds and Bird Tours
Today we walked for 30 minutes at 8 am. and saw one kingfisher. We heard a mangrove pitta call a few times, then stopped after a couple of minutes.
You can sometimes get lucky and see another bird or two, but to be honest, the mangroves from the walkway just isn’t the best place to see birds. The trees are very thick and the lighting is usually bad.
KRABI RIVER MANGROVE BIRD TOUR by BOAT – Our Thai friend who grew up on the Krabi River does all of our bird tours. His father was famous for birding tours, but has passed away. His son has taken over and does a great job for us. We have never had anyone tell us they had a bad bird tour in years. No joke! See 20-30 amazing species in 2-3 hours.
The urban walkway is not a great place for birds in the morning as the sun is coming up over the Krabi River and you are looking into the sun to see the birds that came just into the mangroves area. Not great for photos and most birds don’t go too deep into the mangroves on the other side to give you the proper sun direction for photos and birdwatching.
Location
Krabi Town on the Krabi River just south of the Krabi Public Hospital. North of the Mud Crab Statues.
If you look closely at the roots in or above the water, you may see some mangrove pit vipers (T. purpureomaculatus), monocled cobras (N. kaouthia), or water snakes (E. enhydris).
There are also bugs, fish, water monitors (big lizards). On the trees around you, look for gliding lizards of the genus “Draco.” There are so many different birds, including kingfishers – some small and some very large. There are sea eagles flying above.
In the mud, you might see something that looks like fish. These are mudskippers. Snakes eat them, birds eat them. They fight with each other often – kind of funny to see them out of the water.
Krabi Urban Forest Walkway (Mangrove Walkway)
When you reach the end of the walkway, there is a platform where sometimes a longtail boat is waiting to take people across the water to the small cave on the island you can see across the river. This is cheap and a fun excursion.
Bird Tours by Boat from the Urban Forest?
No! There are some people offering bird tours by boat from the pier at the end of the Urban Forest Walkway. If you go with them, the experience is a fraction of what you would have with the real bird experts.
The guys with boats at the end of the walkway learned that people want boat tours for birds and started offering them. They know almost nothing about birds and will take your money happily every time.
Boats to the Cave?
Yes. You can also take any boat from the edge of the water in Krabi Town to this set of caves. The caves are called, “Khao Khanab Nam Caves.” The guys with boats there will try to charge you 400 THB for 2 people to cross the 80 meter river and back. Ignore them and go to the little pier by Easy Cafe and ask them.
Some caution is advised because there are also monkeys here that are not friendly at all. We have been growled at and nearly pounced on. If you are walking down the walkway and see the monkeys, just turn around and come back another time.
It isn’t worth the risk of an attack. Not sure why the city doesn’t move this troop of dangerous monkeys, but it has been there for more than the decade we’ve been in Krabi Town.
The best way to see many bird species and get great photos is
with the Birding by Boat Tours >
This is a boat that takes up to 5-6 people – for the same price!
2900 THB/2 hours or 3900 THB/3 hrs. Note – 3 hours is the best deal, and during high season they only do 3 hour tours.
Photo Collection of Krabi Urban Forest Walkway
