Based on size, nothing beats the Big Buddha image as Samui's premiere attraction

... plus it is stated that over 90% of Samui's tourists visit Big Buddha during their stay.

Big Buddha is built on a small island called Koh Fan located about one kilometre from the Koh Samui Airport and about 200 metres from BBC Restaurant.

At the time of construction, the Monk responsible was rumoured to have stayed on the land that now houses BBC Restaurant and spent much of his time under the large tree that provides the natural cover for the restaurant.

Big Buddha is 15 metres tall and is 12 metres wide and stands on a platform of around 25 metres so the total height is near to 40 metres above sea level.

It can be seen from many vantage points on the northern parts of samui as well as from planes landing from or taking off to the North of Samui.

The small island of Koh Fan is connected by a causeway which was constructed without any way for the sea to continue flowing. As a result there was a large amount of sand built up which ultimately killed off the reef as can be seen from the photo. There is evidently plans to fix the causeway, but nothing has been seen happening lately.

Before the construction of the causeway, the access was limited to either a boat at high tide or walking across the mud flats at low tide.

There's a story on how Koh Fan got it's name.

The tale has it that a hunter and dog were walking on the beach on the mainland fronting the island when a fan (small deer) crossed their way. The hunter with his dog chased the deer but before they could grab it, the deer jumped into the salty water and swam straight to the island.

They followed but found no trace of the deer on the very small island. As time went on, the island became Koh Fan or island of the deer. And it became a popular belief that the deer that disappeared on the island was a "guardian spirit" keeping watch over the place.

The two-acre island became a cremation site for children under seven years old. But in 1920, a head monk in Chaweng felt it was a good idea to build a monastery with a pagoda on the site. As construction began, the monk got ill and died. And the whole plan was set aside.

Fifty years later a new monk, Phrakru Santinontakoon, revived the project but instead of a pagoda, he decided to build a big statue of the Buddha.

Construction began in 1972 and in roughly three years the project was complete. Small houses of worship were also built around the island for the monks and many are still there today. Originally though, a wooden bridge was made to link the island with the mainland but when it was destroyed in 1977, the causeway was built.