As the story says, the Full Moon Party began long ago in 1983. On Koh Phangan’s famous Haad Rin beach, twenty travelers gathered at wooden beach huts under the full moon. Paradise Bungalows made a small party around the fire, ‘with music and dancing and laughs’, to welcome their guests. A drumming and guitar session under the light of the full moon! They had so much fun they decided to party again the next full moon, and the next after that. And so the Full Moon Party was born.
Back then there was only a wild deserted beach with coral white sand, surrounded by palm jungle and azure waters. And the most beautiful view of the full moon rising, out of the ocean, into the starry sky above. The founding fathers had found a tropical utopia to party in. They came for days, and were still found relaxing in paradise months later, waiting for the next cycle of the moon. As we still wait for the next Full Moon Party today.
During the early 1990’s, between 300-500 people began to turn up for the Full Moon Party. Traveling farang from all over South East Asia would gather on Koh Phangan every full moon. By the late 1990’s, up to 10,000 people arrived in high season. And by the year 2000, word was out, and Haad Rin would change forever. TIME magazine had popularised Koh Phangan in a 1999 article, and on Millennium New Years Eve 50,000 people arrived for the Full Moon Party celebrations!
Nowadays the event regularly gathers 20,000–30,000 people from all around the world. The Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach starts early in the evening around sunset, and finishes long after sunrise the next day. The best way to arrive is from another location on the island. You’ll have the additional pleasure of getting to explore Koh Phangan, an island still unspoiled by touristic infrastructure. Wild nature, surprising waterfalls, and virgin beaches with the purest water are still there to be discovered. More tips and hints you can see here: Full Moon Party F.A.Q.
