The Emerald Cave
A tunnel to a hidden lagoon.
Flickr user: Martin Abegglen Bern, Switzerland https://www.flickr.com/people/twicepix/ — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Marcin Konsek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Uncharted25 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nik Cyclist from Bangkok, Thailand — CC BY 2.0 · Martin Abegglen from Bern, Switzerland — CC BY-SA 2.0
A green, mountainous island off the Trang coast, home to a quiet Muslim fishing village and famous for the Emerald Cave, Tham Morakot, one of the most remarkable places in southern Thailand. At low tide visitors swim through a dark tunnel in the limestone cliff for about eighty metres, holding a rope behind a guide, until they come out into a turquoise lagoon and a small sandy beach ringed by high rock walls open to the sky. Pirates are said to have hidden their treasure on this secret beach. On the island's west side the long sandy Charlie Beach has calm resorts and views of limestone islets scattered across the sea. The island suits a quiet stay or a day trip on the four-islands tour from Trang. The cave lies in Hat Chao Mai National Park, so the park fee applies, and it is entered only at low tide, with a life jacket and torch, with a guide or on a tour boat. It does not suit anyone afraid of the dark or tight spaces, or children who cannot swim. Most people on the Trang islands are Muslim, so there are small mosques and halal food is easy to find. The best season is November to April; from May to October the monsoon makes the sea rough and boats thin out or stop. Come first thing in the morning before the tour boats, as the cave gets very crowded at midday.
A tunnel to a hidden lagoon.
Long sand on the west side.
Quiet life and halal food.
Off the coast of Trang province in the Andaman Sea, about an hour from Kuan Tung Ku pier
It means swimming about eighty metres through a dark tunnel with a rope and life jacket; easy for swimmers who follow the guide, but not for anyone afraid of the dark.