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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.
elow 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.
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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.
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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.
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