Krabi (, ) is the main town in the province of Krabi (thesaban mueang) on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2020, the town had a population of 32,644. The town is the capital of Krabi Province and the 10 Krabi city sub-districts. Tourism is an important industry. Krabi is south of Bangkok by road. History At the start of the Rattanakosin period in the late eighteenth century, when the capital was finally settled at Bangkok, an elephant kraal was established in Krabi by order of Chao Phraya Nakhon (Noi), the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which was by then a part of the Thai Kingdom. He sent his vizier, the Phra Palad, to oversee this task, which was to ensure a regular supply of elephants for the larger town. So many followers immigrated in the steps of the Phra Palad that soon Krabi had a large community in three different boroughs: Pakasai, Khlong Pon, and Pak Lao. In 1872, King Chulalongkorn elevated these to town status, called Krabi, a word that preserves in its meaning the monkey symbolism of the old standard. The town's first governor was Luang Thep Sena, though it continued for a while as a dependency of Nakhon Si Thammarat. This was changed in 1875, when Krabi was raised to a fourth-level town in the old system of Thai government. Administrators then reported directly to the central government in Bangkok, and Krabi's history as an entity separate from other provinces had begun. Administration The town covers the tambon Paknam and Krabi Yai of Krabi District, and is divided into 10 communities (chumchon). Climate Facing the Andaman Sea, like Phuket, Krabi has a tropical monsoon climate, and is subject to a ten-month rainy season between March and December, often with sustained heavy rains for days at a time during the monsoons. Krabi's highest ever recorded temperature was on 26 March 1998. Its lowest temperature was recorded on 11 January 2009: . Demographics Since 2005, the population of Krabi has been greatly increasing. Tourism Much of the province has been given over to several national parks. Top destinations are Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Ao Nang, Railay, and Ko Phi Phi. The province includes over 80 smaller islands such as Ko Lanta and Phi Phi, well-known to