Ao Phangnga Marine National Park

Ao Phangnga Marine National Park is 401 sq. km of coast between Ko Phuket and Krabi and accessible from both places. The bay is composed of spectacular, sheer limestone crags and islands, mangrove forest, clear seas and coral which combine to make one of Thailand's greatest and most photogenic wonders. The sheltered waters remain calm year-round adding to its appeal. Islands such as Ko Phanak and Ko Hong are favourite overnight anchorages for sailing yachts. The more adventurous might try sea canoeing, where you can penetrate the hongs, the mysterious hearts of islands such as Ko Panak and Ko Hong - hidden worlds of tropical flora and fauna only recently discovered from the air. They appear to be collapsed cave systems, open to the sky and surrounded by towering limestone walls. Of similarly great interest are Tham Lod Yai, Tham Lod Lek and Ko Talu, cave like passages through eroded limestone archways, with great curtains of overhanging stalactites.

Boat rides along the labyrinthine canals of the mangrove swamps are also rewarding. Rock paintings three to five thousand years old decorate sites such as Khao Khian, or the 'Mountain of Nail Island from James Bond's Ko Khao Phing Kan. (TAT)Writing', which rises above Ko Panyi. Just before the mouth of the Phangnga River there are black and ochre rock paintings of people, crocodiles, dolphins and sharks. Another diversion is the pearl farm on Ko Yao Yai, where guided tours familiarize the visitor with the process of making cultured pearls. There is also the popular tourist attraction of Ko Khao Phing Kan, famous as "James Bond Island" from its use in the movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. Nearby Ko Panyi has an entire Muslim fishing village of about 500 households built on stilts in the sea and connected by wooden bridges. There is one school in the village on a plot of land with a mosque and burial ground together with several restaurants.

Source: Siam Wanderer