Forty kilometers off the mainland of Thailand lay the Phi Phi Islands, one of the world's most beautiful and well-known tourist destinations. Consisting of two small islands, blanketed in lush forests with steep limestone cliffs from the Phang Nga Province chain, the name comes from the Malay language, meaning "mangrove wood".
Bays of Plenty
Phi Phi Don is the larger of the two islands: one half catering to sun-worshippers, the other to the diving brigade. A narrow isthmus of half-moon bays - Tonsai Bay and Lodalam Bay, surrounded by mountains to the east and jungles to the west - connect the halves. Because a substantial portion of the interior is inaccessible, development is concentrated around the bays.
Trapped Waters
Two kilometers to the south is the uninhabited Phi Phi Ley, more than six square kilometers encircled by phosphoric rock formations and cliffs, preventing beach access. The sheer cliffs and limestone rocks trap surrounding waters, shielding the bays and giving them the appearance of inland lakes.
Cave Carvings
The Viking Cave in the northeastern corner is home to thousands of nesting swifts. In 1972, His Majesty the King renamed it Tahm Pya Nak (Cave of the King Serpent), from Buddhist mythology, because of the boulder that resembles a serpent head. Locals revere the cave, though that doesn't stop them from occasionally stripping it of its nests for bird's nest soup. Paintings of elephants and ships are engraved on the inner walls, believed the work of pirates sheltering from monsoons.
Dream Destination
Crystalline seas, towering cliffs, foliated pillars of limestone, attractive coral and a vivid underwater life, all combine to make the Phi Phi Islands a dream destination in the Andaman. Visitors not on a tight schedule should be sure not to bypass this tropical paradise.
