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

Similan Islands · Thailand · Reef · Sand slope · Night

Koh Tachai East Reef

Hard-coral slope better known as Leopard Shark Reef

Area photo: Reinhard Link · CC BY-SA 2.0

Koh Tachai East Reef is a gentle reef slope on the east side of Koh Tachai, often called Leopard Shark Reef for good reason. It is an easy, relaxing dive over abundant hard corals, and it works well late in the day as a sunset or night dive.

Also known as Koh Tachai Reef, Leopard Shark Reef.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Koh Tachai East Reef: typical dive 5–30 m (15–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit5 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

9.0635° N, 97.8151° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The reef begins at 5-10 m and slopes gently down to a sandy bottom at 20-30 m, with hard corals abundant the whole way. Leopard sharks give the reef its nickname, and barracudas and schools of trevally can pass along the slope over the reef. Sunset and night dives are run on the same slope.

Marine life and season

  • Barracuda
  • Trevally & jacks
Month-by-month season rating for Koh Tachai East Reef
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.

Dive videos

Koh Tachai Reef Dive 3 Similan in Thailand 12 February 2021 Onboard MV Bavaria with Loma Diving · Dive-In on YouTube

Sources

  1. Koh Tachai Reef — ScubaGo
  2. Koh Tachai Pinnacle — Sunrise Divers Phuket

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Drift

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Similar dives elsewhere

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