Diving sites in Ko Tao
Ko Tao, Thailand is known for its numerous dive sites. Diving plays a significant role in the local economy.
Name | Max. depth | Visibility | Average depth | Level | Features | Marine life |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red Rock (Shark Island)[1] | 28m | 5-30m | 15m | Open water + | Boulders and rock formations, soft corals. Drift diving for the experienced. | Resident turtle, great barracuda, titan triggerfish and clown triggerfish |
Hin Wong Pinnacle[2] | 40m | 15-20m | 17m | Open water + | Tabletop rock formation covered with a variety of hard and soft corals. | Hawksbill turtle, snapper, sweetlips, porcupine pufferfish, juvenile boxfish |
Mango Bay[3] | 16m | 5-20m | 10m | Beginner + | Only accessible by boat and a perfect dive site for first timers with a sandy bottom and shallow reef. Now also accessible by a recently built road through the jungle from Sairee Beach | Small reef fish, puffer, moray eels |
white rock[4] | 20m | 10-30m | 12m | Open water + | A wide band of coral reef with a diversity of hard and soft corals. | Wrasses, butterflyfish, angelfish, moray eels, clownfish, and triggerfish. |
Nang Yuan Pinnacle[5] | 19m | 10-30m | 10m | Open water + | A large boulder with swim-through arches and to the west a large cave to explore. | Giant whiptail ray, moray, pipefish, crabs, titan triggerfish and reef shark. |
Twins[6] | 22m | 10-25m | 12m | Open water + | Three groups of granite rocks covered in corals and sponges, divided by sandy patches and a backdrop of coral garden. | Blue spotted ray, juvenile blue-ringed angelfish, six-barred angelfish, clownfish, scorpionfish and pink anemone. |
Green rock[7] | 28m | 10-30m | 16m | Open water+ | A maze of swim-throughs, canyons, caverns, and caves created by giant boulders. | Yellow-margin and titan triggerfish, giant trevallies, cobias and stingrays, occasional reef shark sightings. |
Japanese gardens | 14m | 10-15m | 10m | Beginner + | Hundreds of hard and soft coral formations creating the impression of an oriental garden. A dive boat also rests at around 15 meters, which was destroyed in the summer of 2009 and was towed to the site. | Abundance of small coral fish and a variety of nudibranchs. |
Chumphon pinnacle[8] | 45m | 5-30m | 24m | Experienced diver | Four granite pinnacles carpeted with anemones. | Whale shark (seasonal), giant grouper, barracuda, bull shark, bat fish and tuna. |
Southwest pinnacle[9] | 33m | 10-30m | 20m | Advanced + | A collection of pinnacles with a unique topo-graphical arrangement, giant fan corals. | Whale shark (seasonal), giant grouper, barracuda, occasional leopard shark. |
Sail rock[10] | 45m | 15-35m | 30m | All level | Huge rock chimmey with an vertical swim-through that ascends from 18 m to 8 m. Amongst the Gulf of Thailand first diving sites | Large pelagics, king mackerel, tuna, whale shark and manta. |
References
- Red Rock (Shark Island) Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Hin Wong Pinnacle Archived 2008-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Mango Bay Archived 2008-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
- white rock Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Nang Yuan Pinnacle Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Twins Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Green rock Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Chumphon pinnacle Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- South west pinnacle Archived 2009-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Sail rock Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.