Discover The Tsunami Museum, Khao Lak

On December the 26th 2004 a devastating Tsunami hit the Indian Ocean. The waves traveled at 500mph and hit a large area of Thailand, India Sri Lanka and Myanmar. This was caused by the third largest earthquake ever recorded. One of the worst effected areas was Khao Lak on the East Coast of Thailand. The Tsunami Museum, Khao Lak was built to remember the wreckage it caused, the lives lost and educate about preparedness for future Tsunamis.

Whilst a visit to Khao Lak’s Tsunami Museum may not be high on your happy holiday activities list I feel it’s so worth a visit to pay respects and understand the area you are exploring. Your small entry fee goes towards education, supporting the community and keeping the museum going so you will be helping the local children with your visit.

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What to expect at the Tsunami Museum, Khao Lak

This is not a modern, interactive museum, in fact it feels more like a house than a purpose built building. The whole museum consists of just a few rooms with informational boards and videos from the day of the Tsunami. It also covers the clean up effort after and the lasting impact on survivors and their families. Exhibits are displayed in both Thai and Engish.

Once you have finished exploring the museum you can walk across the road to the small park. Here you’ll see the famous police boat that was washed ashore by the waves. Near the boat there is also another small open shack with more picture boards you can visit for free.

Police Boat 813

Her Royal Highness Ubonrat Rajakanya Siriwaddhana Phannawaddee was staying at a beach front resort in Khao Lak on the day the Tsunami hit. A police boat was moored just off shore to provide protecting to her and her family. It is this 60 tonne boat that ended up being swept inland around 1.5 km to where it is now at the base of the hills.

The boat is well maintained and serves as a memorial for those lost to the Boxing Day Tsunami. It’s an incredible visual demonstration of just how far the water came in. You definitely feel a long time from the sea.

Read next: My review of the Waters Khao Lak Hotel

Is the Khao Lak Tsunami Museum suitable for children?

This is a very personal decision. We visited with our 12 year old daughter, having discussed the Tsunami prior to our visit. She was very interested and moved by the images and videos and was able to leave a message within the museum. She also learnt a lot about how Tsunamis and formed, how to stay safe and the safety measures that have been implemented in many coastal parts of Thailand since the Tsunami.

Toddlers and young kids probably won’t really understand what they’re looking at. If your little ones are sensitive, you may want to avoid the videos and photos. A walk out to the boat is worth it though and this can be done without entering the museum.

Discover more great things to do in Khao Lak in my recent post.

Is Khao Lak safe now?

20 years on from the Tsunami, Khao Lak is recovering well. Many of the hotels, resorts and businesses that were destroyed have been rebuilt and once again it is a popular area for tourists to visit. The deeper scars left from the tsunami and more difficult to recover from. There are many survivors who suffer from PTSD and families who lost many loved ones or couldn’t afford to rebuild. However everyone we met in Khao Lak was incredibly friendly and welcoming.

Although it is impossible to predict if or when another Tsunami will hit Khao Lak, much has gone in to investigating early warning signs and educating on what to do in the event of another. There are signposts everywhere indicating the Tsunami evacuation route. They have introduced an extensive alarm system and built several tsunami shelters. For peace of mind it’s always worth taking a minute to memorise where these are but please do not be afraid.

Where is the Tsunami museum in Khao Lak

The museum is fairly easy to find if you are visiting Khao Lak. It’s located on the main road just opposite the Bangniang Market. Cross over heading towards the hills and you’ll see the sign for boat 813 and the memorial park.

The address is 47/7 Moo 3 Khakkhuk Takuap.

Tsunami Museum Khao Lak opening hours

The museum is open every day between 9am and 9pm.

How long should I spend at the Tsunami Museum

This really depends on how much of the information you want to read and whether you want to watch all the videos. I would schedule half an hour to explore the museum. And then extra time to walk across to the police boat.

The movie about the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami

I thought the 2013 movie called The Impossible with Naomi Watts and Ewan Mcgregor was excellent. It was a pretty tough watch but really highlighted the terror and devastation from the day. You can watch The Impossible on Amazon Prime.

Other memorials dedicated to the 2004 Tsunami.

We also visted another boat that had been washed inland when we were exploring the Khao Lak Turtle sanctuary. It’s located on a Thai Navy Base so also feels very moving. You could also visit Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Memorial Park which is located in Takua Pa, about 40 minutes south of Khao Lak.

Final thoughts on visiting the Tsunami Museum in Khao Lak

If you are visiting Khao Lak or heading through to en route to one of the National Parks, a quick visit to the museum is well worth it. Go to pay your respects, support the locals and I promise you’ll learn loads about Tsunamis and how to stay safe. It is a powerful reminder of one of Thailands worst natural disasters.

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