Ko Phra Thong ( th, เกาะพระทอง, ) is an island in Khura Buri District, Phang Nga Province, southern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

on the Andaman Sea. It has an area of and is separated from the mainland by a canal. The nearest town is Khura Buri, on the mainland about east. Ko Phra Thong is the middle link in a chain of three islands. It is largely flat with expanses of inland savanna. It has long uninhabited beaches, fringed by coconut palms. There have always been a number of special natural features of Ko Phra Thong Island. It fronts onto over eight kilometres of beach on the Andaman Sea and, in addition, over of beach on a bay containing small islands. It is from the

Surin Islands The Surin Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะสุรินทร์, ) is an archipelago of five islands in the Andaman Sea, 60 km from the Thai mainland. Administratively, the islands are part of Tambon Ko Phra Thong, Khura Buri Dist ...

, Richelieu Rock, and only slightly further to the

Similan Islands The Similan Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะสิมิลัน, , , Malay: ''Pulau Sembilan'') is an archipelago in the Andaman Sea off the coast of, and part of, Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand. It is the maritime border bet ...

. All are renowned diving locations. On the east side is a small fisher village, ''Thapayoi'', and on the southeast end is another small village, ''Thung Dap''. These villages total fewer than 300 inhabitants consisting of

Moken The Moken (also ''Mawken or'' ''Morgan''; ; th, ชาวเล, lit=sea people, translit=chao le) are an Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand. Most of the 2, ...

, a tribe of sea gypsies, and Thais. The larger village, ''Thapayoi'', has a school and a community health centre. To the north is Ko Ra. It is long, mountainous, and covered in rain forest. The island is home to a number of animal species. To the south is Ko Kho Khao which is similar to Ko Phra Tong. The island is part of the Mu Ko Ra–Ko Phra Thong National Park, established in 2001.

References

External links

* Islands of Thailand Geography of Phang Nga province Ramsar sites in Thailand {{PhangNga-geo-stub