Surin Islands

A hot season runs from mid-February to May. The rainy season is from mid-May to October, the rainiest month. The annual average rainfall is 1,350 millimetres (53 in) with average humidity of 71 percent and 104 rain days. Highest average wind speeds are observed in December with 3.73 knots (6.9 km/h).[5]

A Moken boat. Note the bi­fur­cat­ed bow, in contrast to tra­di­tional Thai fishing boats.

The Surin Islands are inhabited by a small community of the ethnic Moken or Morgan (Thai: ชาวเล, romanized: chaao laeh, lit. 'sea people', 'Sea Gypsies') minority. The Moken population of the Surin Island averages around 150–330 persons.[1][2][6]

The Moken are three distinct tribes living on the Andaman Coast of Myanmar and Thailand: the Moken of the Mergui archipelago, the Moklen of the Phang Nga Province, and the Urak Lawoi living from the Phuket province south to the Satun province. With Austronesian roots, their languages (Moken, Moklen, Urak Lawoi'), culture, and lifestyle are unique, and they have a history of peaceful coexistence with mainland neighbors. The Moken, proper, have a long history of living in the Mergui archipelago between Myanmar and the islands of Thailand's North Andaman coast. As sea nomads, the Moken used to spend most of their lives on traditional houseboats known as kabang,[7][8][9][10] moving from bay to bay depending on the wind and weather. The last kabang was built in 2006 and an initiative to revive the tradition started in 2018.[11]

The Moken do not have a written language and their traditions are passed on by oral lore, which helped them to survive the 2004 tsunami wiping out the villages in Ko Surin Nuea and Ko Surin Tai.[2] When the villagers saw the sea receding back from the beaches, they knew a tsunami was approaching as their ancestors have encoded the danger in a legend of the laboon or giant wave. The legend teaches that the laboon usually comes as series of waves. The mass of water receding very quickly was peculiar, and the incoming white breaker was definitely a sign of laboon as it occurred without any stirring wind or a changing sign in the sky.[12] The entire population escaped to safe higher grounds and those who were taking tourists out for snorkeling headed their boats away from the shore to avoid impact.[2][12] However, their houses and all their other belongings were completely wiped out. Only half of the boats survived the catastrophe. The community reconstructed a single village called Ao Bon Yai in Ko Surin Tai.[2]

Family connections are strong and dependable. Furthermore, the Moken language has no native words for individual possession which is reflected in a culture of sharing and giving.

Aside from ancestor worship, the Moken have no religion. In sea tribe tradition, the deceased are buried below the house of their family, alongside sea shells and other ritualistic offerings.[13] The Moken have great understanding and respect for their environment and natural resources. In past times, the Moken people were subsistence hunter-gathers, trading shells, sea cucumbers, and fish for rice and other necessities. They use 83 plant species for food, 33 for medicinal purposes, 53 for construction of huts, boats and tools, and 54 species for other purposes.[8]

Mu Ko Surin National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติหมู่เกาะสุรินทร์, romanized: oot yaan haeng chaa dti muu gaw soo ri noht) encompasses the islands and their surrounding waters. The park was gazetted as the 30^th national park of Thailand on 9 July 1981[1] and expanded on 6 July 2007.[14] The park covers an area of 88,282 rais ~ 141.25 square kilometres (54.54 sq mi).[1] Of the protected area, 108 km² (42 sq mi) or 76 percent is ocean.

Visiting the park can be done either as day trips with speedboats from Khao Lak and Khura Buri Pier or by multiple day cruises. The entrance fee can be paid at the Surin Islands Visitor Center in Khura Puri, the headquarters at Chong Kaad Bay of Ko Surin Nuea, or to the staff at Richelieu Rock. At Ko Surin Nuea it is possible to camp at Mai Ngam beach or rent one of the few accommodations at Chong Kaad Bay. Other than the Moken village and park premises, there are no other buildings on the islands. Except for the Moken village and campsite, most of the land areas in the islands are off limits to visitors. In high season around 450–800 people visit the park every day. The park is open 15^th October to 15^th May and may close earlier depending on weather conditions.[2]

Bay of Ko Surin Nuea

Dolphins off the islands

Primary rain forest covers most area of the park. Beach forest can be found in beach areas where Barringtonia and Cerbera odollam abound. Mangrove forest can be found in the mud and brackish water of Mae Yai Bay.[3]

Surveys have found:[3]

• Ninety-one types of birds including 57 local species. Others are migrating species.
• Twenty-two mammal species including 12 types of bats.
• Marine mammals such as Bryde's whales.[15]
• Seven species of reptiles such as Asian water monitors, Clouded monitors, skinks, reticulated pythons, and the endemic Surin bent-toed gecko.
• Sea turtles still nest on the Surin islands, with two species coming ashore to lay their eggs, critically endangered hawksbill and green turtles. In the early-1990s some rare olive ridley turtles were spotted.

The national park has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of the near-threatened Nicobar pigeon and Beach stone-curlew, the vulnerable Large green pigeon, as well as several species that are nationally threatened or near-threatened in Thailand, including Green imperial pigeon, Pied imperial pigeon and Orange-breasted green pigeon.[16]

✱ Richelieu Rock in the lower right corner of the map

More than 260 species of reef fish, 68 species of coral, 48 species of nudibranch, and 31 species of shrimp were recorded in the national park.[2]

The best time for diving is from December to April with dry conditions, minimum wind and an average water temperature at around 29 °C (84 °F). All dive sites are only accessible by boat. While sightings of large pelagic species like manta ray and whale shark[17] are rare, February to April is the best time to spot them.[2] Due to marine conservation initiatives diving is not allowed in certain areas of the national park.[2]

Richelieu Rock is a solitary limestone pinnacle standing from around 30 to 35 m (98 to 115 ft) depth with its peak right below the sea surface at low tide and home to some of the largest marine life species in Thailand.[2] It is referred to one as one of the ten best dive spots in the world.[18][19]

• List of islands of Thailand
• List of national parks of Thailand
• List of Protected Areas Regional Offices of Thailand

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Surin Islands.

Mu Ko Surin National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage