This group of nine remote islands located 95 km northwest of
Phuket was designated as a national park in 1982. The Similan
Islands are some the worlds most beautiful and unspoiled islands
and together with the splendor of the rich and varied marine life,
and stunning coral reefs they offer a world class underwater paradise
for scuba divers.
Shelow the surface the Similans offer a wide variety of underwater
scenery and marine life. You can draw a line roughly down the
middle of each island in the chain separating them into two parts,
with each offering totally different diving environments. On the
western side of the islands, huge granite boulders are stacked
on top of one another creating magnificent archways, and plunging
drop-offs.
Most of these granite boulders are so completely covered in colorful
soft corals that the rock is no longer visible.Diving on the eastern
side of the islands can give you the impression of diving in another
part of the world. Here hard coral gardens gradually slope down
to approximately 30-40 meters where sand takes over as the water
depth increases. Massive schools of colorful tropical fish are
attracted to the nutrient rich water that swirls around these
islands.
Sightings of large fish are rather rare in these waters but you
may occasionally encounter leopard sharks and even whale sharks
here.There are more than 20 documented dive sites in the Similan
Islands, many of which have developed there, own international
reputation. Christmas Point, on Island #9, Ko Bangru: is famous
for a series of dramatic archways for divers to swim through while
they swim with the schools Blue Fin Trevally, and Jack Tuna. Fantasy
Reef, on Island #8, Ko Similan: is a popular site to exploring
the massive underwater rock formations, and for a likely encounter
with some of the many species of rays that live there. Elephant
Head, on Island #8, Koh Similan: is probably the most famous dive
in the group, the site is named after an unusually shaped group
of rocks that jut out of the water just to the southwest of Koh
Similan.
The Similan Islands are consistently ranked as one of the top
ten dive sites in the world, and there is good reason to believe
they will remain that way for future generations. The Thai Government
can be justly proud of their efforts to preserve and protect this
group of pristine islands. In one effort the Fishing Dept placed
mooring buoys in the most popular anchorage's allowing visiting
boats to tie up rather then dropping an anchor and risk damaging
the fragile reef. It is easy to applaud all efforts to preserve
the wild, unspoiled beaches, magnificent coral reefs, and the
turquoise blue water of this special area.
Dive safaris at Similan
