Friday, July 1, 2011

Lipe Island


Lipe   island










Koh Lipe   is a small island in the Southern part of the Andaman sea. 
It is located in Satun Province. about 60 Kilometres (38 miles) from the mainland.
    It is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park, a large group of over 70 islands,
    and also part of a smaller cluster of islands called the Butang Islands  or Adang     
    Archipelago.
     Koh Lipe is famous for diving and snorkeling, and for the beautiful beaches and the
     relaxed    atmosphere.




There are 3 main beaches on Koh Lipe: Pattaya Beach,               Sunrise Beach, and Sunset Beach, all within 15 minutes  walking  distance 




There is great snorkeling around the 2 tiny islands just of Sunset Beach:  Koh Kra   and Koh Usen.   In front of the school lies Koh Kra,   the good stuff is to the right of the island. In front of Forra lies Koh Usen, great snorkeling  to the left of the island.  Good swimmers can swim from  Koh Kra to Koh Usen, there is a drop-off here with lots of nice things to see. Fins are recommended here as the currents can be strong.
Sunset Beach
The snorkeling from Sunset Beach, but we  recommend you go out   when the tide is high   as it is very shallow, when the tide is out    you are very close to the coral  and it is easy to hurt yourself.

Sunrise  beach
Pattaya   Beach
Snorkeling of Pattaya Beach,  can be a bit intimidating because of all the boats,  if you stick to the left side  of the beach near Bundhaya Resort     you won't be bothered  by them so much,  and this is also where the best  snorkeling 


    
There  are some great dive sites  near Koh Lipe,  unlike other places in Thailand
Koh  Chabang
Koh Lipe's most picturesque site, popular with both snorkelers and divers. 
Beautiful soft coral cover. a pinnacle underneath the surface to about 16 meters.
Koh Sawang
This is a great dive with great visibility.   Good chance on seeing something big  from deep waters nearby. There is a huge black rock covered with soft coral that provides a fairytale backdrop. You can cruise around a few pinnacles and there is   a  beautiful  shallow  reef. 


Koh Phung
Beautiful scenery above and below the water:  near a few stunning beaches               you can dive along the island,   which is surrounded by a deep channel.                 Surreal rock formations  and weird looking corals house a lot of cowries.




Yong Hua   - Wreck Dive
15 years ago the Thai fish processing ship Yong Hua sank to a depth of 40 meters near Lipe island and a reef has been established here. This is dive for divers with experience and require a good deal of planning and thinking, in return you get to see an intact wreck and insight in reef formation. Due to the depth (starts at 35 meters) this is a short dive but your safety stop should be worth it just watching barracudas