The word ‘Similan’ comes from the Malay language for ‘Sembilan’ which means 9, referring to the number of islands that make up the Similans. These Islands run in more or less in a straight line from south to north with Island no.1 in the south and Island no.9 in the north. The islands are granite islands which create a spectacular landscape. The beaches are completely white and incredibly soft, the water is crystal clear and is a wonderful turquoise colour. Two of the islands (Island no.4 Koh Miang and island no.8 Koh Similan) have viewpoints that you can climb and take some stunning photos. The same two islands also have national park offices where you can purchase t-shirts and get some information about the islands.
There are two distinctively different types of dive sites on the Similans due to their geographical location. On the west side the islands the dive sites are heavily exposed to rough conditions such as waves, currents and surge during the monsoon so here the sand never settles between the rocks exposing the smooth round granite boulders. This natural phenomenon shapes fantastic dive sites with canyons, channels, swim throughs and amazing typography. Also the boulders are often covered in fast growing soft corals, sea fans and feather stars.
On the other side, the east side of the islands, is where the beautiful reefs are protected so instead of the boulders we get the hard coral reefs. The reefs gently slope from as shallow as just a few meters all the way down to 30 meters and more. On a few of the dive sites the hard coral created what we call ‘bommies’ which is formation of corals that have grown on top of each other for thousands of years creating these massive coulourful sculptures.
So diving and snorkeling around the Similans is a wonderful holiday destination and are suitable for the most experienced divers as well as the less experienced, there is even enough to do for the ones who prefers to stay on the surface.
The Similans have a huge variety of marine life. Here you can enjoy many of the most common fish species such as, butterflyfish, triggerfish, anenomefish, surgeonfish, batfish as well as some of the more special ones such as lionfish, frogfish and ghostpipefish. For the macro lover there’s quite a few species of nudibranch, crabs and shrimps, cowries and shells and for the ones who are more interested in the larger fish can encounter turtles, tunas, barracudas, napoleon wrasse, stingrays and even sometimes sharks.
And in-between the islands, keep an eye out for dolphins and whales!
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