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A sea turtle swims near the surface over a reef at the Similan Islands

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef · Cave & cavern

Chinese Wall

Granite boulder maze of swim-throughs, caverns and morays

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Chinese Wall is named after the collection of granite boulders that stretch away from the southern point of Koh Miang. The rocks form swim-throughs, valleys, caverns and caves that make the site a diver's playground, and their crevices hold several kinds of moray eel.

Also known as Bird Rock.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Chinese Wall: typical dive to 30 m (to 100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

8.5578° N, 97.6371° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The boulders begin above the surface and continue underwater to a depth of almost 30 m, and the dive works through the gaps between them. Visibility is often good, above 20 m. The crevices are home to large giant morays as well as fimbriated, yellow-margined and smaller white-eyed morays, and one or two resident white tip reef sharks hide in the shadows of the rocks.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
Month-by-month season rating for Chinese Wall
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeFairOff-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonOff-seasonFairGoodPrime

Season follows Similan Islands: The park is closed by law from mid-May to mid-October; December to April is the calm high season.

Know before you go

  • Currents are usually moderate around the boulders, although sometimes they can be strong.

Sources

  1. Similan Islands dive sites — Dive The World
  2. Khao Lak day trips — Sea-Bees Diving
  3. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

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