Phang-nga
Town |
| Phung
Chang Cave (Elephant Belly Cave) is located
within the precinct of Wat Praphat Prachimkhet,
which is behind the Provincial Hall.
Wat Praphat Prachimkhet |
Inside the cave there are stalagmites and stalactites
and a brook flowing all year round.
Rusisawan and Luk
Suea Caves
These two connecting caves are in Phra Si Nakarin
Park on Phetkasem Highway obliquely opposite to
the Provincial Court. Rusisawan Cave is in front
of Luk Seua Cave. There are stalagmites and stalactites
and meandering streams.
Sa Nang Manora Forest Park is located in Nop
Pring Subdistrict. To go to the park, you have
to follow Phang-nga - Krabi Route (Highway No.4)
about 3 hours, then turn right at the intersection
next to the power station.
Sa Nang Manora Forest
Park |
The park is 3 km. down this road. It is a pleasant
forest with various kinds of plants and a lovely
fall cascading from a hill forming several pools
suitable for swimming.
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| Ao Phang-nga
National Park |
| Ao Phang-nga or Phang-nga Bay
is one of the most frequently visited marine national
parks of Thailand. With an area of 40,000 sq.km.,
it comprises more than 40 islands, large and small,
located to the northeast of Phuket. It is almost
like an inland lake with its east, north and west
sealed off by land and its south partly enclosed,
too.
The sea is rather shallow with an average depth
of a few metres only. The park is therefore a
safe place to visit throughout the year. The waves
never reach one meter high even in the monsoon
months from May to October, though a visit from
November to April is still preferable because
then the sky is clear, the sea is calm and the
trip will not be interrupted by rain.
The national park is widely known among foreign
tourists for its unique seascape. The group of
islets has become known as Guilin-on-Sea. According
to geologists, the area was once above the sea.
A tour of the bay is inevitably made by boat.
Visitors may travel by a motor boat seating several
dozen people, a boat with a long shafted outboard
motor or "long-tail boat" as locally
known, which seats some 10 people, or a canoe
which can be ridden by no more than three passengers
and which provides a great opportunity for tourists
to explore the islets closely and even go through
small openings of the islets.
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| Attractions around the Bay |
 Tham Lot
is a limestone grotto sculptured by weather and
the sea water. The cave is large enough to allow
two or three boats going through side by side. There
are also stalactites hanging down from the roof,
but not as beautiful as those found in a mountain
cave, probably because their formation has been
constantly interfered by forces of nature. Tourists
popularly canoe to explore nature here. |
Khao Phingkan |
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 |
| Phang-nga Bay |
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| Ko Panyi |
|
Khao
Phingkan and Ko Tapu which are near each other,
some 10 km. from Tham Lot. Khao Phingkan means (two)
hills leaning against each other. In fact, the two
islets (hills) forming Khao Phingkan are connected
by a tiny beach. But one of them is split in two,
with one leaning against the other.
Ko Tapu |
|
Standing alone
in the sea some 200 metres from Khao Phingkan is
the tiny Ko Tapu, or Nail Islet. Looking like a
spike driven into the sea, it is perhaps the most
photographed object in the whole marine park. It
has become a symbol of the park, especially since
the Hollywood production -The Man with the Golden
Gun, starring James Bond, was partly shot here. |
| Ko Panyi
is a popular place for a seafood lunch. It presents
a very special sight with all restaurants and some
500 houses built on stilts over the sea. In fact,
they constitute a centuries-old Muslim fishing village,
complete with a mosque and a school. |
| Khao Khian
or Writing Hill is where a shallow cave contains
coloured drawings of people, crocodiles, dolphins
and sharks estimated to be about 3,000 years old. |
| Ko
Hong is a jewel on Phang-nga Bay due to its
beautiful sea views and several caves on sea accessible
only by canoe. The west of the island features high
cliffs and lagoon while the east comprises a bay
and a curved white sand beach. |
| Ko Phanak
By canoeing through its small opening on sea
at low tide, visitors will enter a wonderful hidden
world of its emerald lagoon. Here is a favourite
spot for tourists and a new star in Phang-nga Bay. |
| Ko Khai
consists of 2 virgin islands, located in the south
of the bay which is easily accessible from Phuket,
taking only 35 minutes. The sand is white and powdery
and the sea is pure and crystal, ideal for people
who love tranquility, swimming and sunbathing. |
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| How to Get to Ao Phang-nga |
| The entrance to Ao Phang-nga National
Park is 87 km. from Phuket and about 9 km. from
the town of Phang-nga. From either town just take
Highway No. 4 heading southward to Khok Kloi District
until arriving at Km. 8 then turn left to Highway
No. 4144 and the park office is a few kilometres
away. |
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| Boat Trips |
| Boats can be hired to tour around
Ao Phang-nga at the Customs Checkpoint Pier or Surakul
Pier in Takua Thung District. Or you can contact
your tour agent in Phang-nga town who organize half-day,
full-day and overnight tours. Normally the tour
includes a seafood lunch or dinner at Ko Panyi.
Most travel agencies in Phuket also arrange these
same tours, at higher prices, of course. |
