Tarutao National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติตะรุเตา) has 51 islands in the Strait of Malacca, near the coast of Satun Province in southern Thailand. The park includes two groups of islands: Tarutao (Thai: หมู่เกาะตะรุเตา) and Adang-Rawi (Thai: หมู่เกาะอาดัง-ราวี), which are spread out 20 to 70 kilometers from the shore. The park covers 931,250 rai, or 1,490 square kilometers (580 square miles). Of this area, 1,260 square kilometers (490 square miles) is ocean, and 230 square kilometers (89 square miles) is land. The southernmost part of the park is near the border with Malaysia, just north of Langkawi. Tarutao became Thailand's second marine national park on April 19, 1974. The coastal Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park was made a protected area in 1966.

The name "Tarutao" comes from a Thai version of its original Malay name, "pulau tertua," which means "old, mysterious, and primitive island."

Ko Tarutao was the location for Survivor: Thailand, the 2002 season of the U.S. reality television show Survivor.

Main (larger) islands

There are nine important islands in the Tarutao/Adang-Rawi archipelagos:

• Tarutao Archipelago (about 30 kilometers from the coast of Thailand)

• Klang Archipelago (about 38 kilometers from the coast of Thailand)

• The Adang/Rawi group of islands (about 50 kilometers west of Tarutao)

History

The park was created in 1974. In 1982, it became one of the first ASEAN Heritage Parks. In 1990, it was sent to UNESCO to be considered for World Heritage Site status. However, UNESCO delayed its approval during the fifteenth World Heritage Committee meeting in 1991. UNESCO asked for better management of the area. The rivers and swamps of Tarutao Island were the final place where the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, lived in Thailand. The species no longer exists in the area.

The oldest known written description of the island comes from December 1606 to January 1607. It is found in the travel records of Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge of the Dutch East India Company. In the late 1930s, the island was used as a prison for Thai political prisoners. During World War II, when supplies from the mainland stopped, the guards and prisoners worked together to attack ships near the island. These attacks were planned by an American plantation owner who blamed the war for losing his wealth. He was helped by two British soldiers who were hiding from murder charges and had arrived on Tarutao to avoid the war. Together, they sank 130 ships and killed everyone on them. After the pirates of Tarutao were removed by British forces at the end of the war, fishermen and farmers began living on the island.

Attractions

• Son Bay (Ao Son) is the only bay on the west side of Tarutao National Park. It is famous for being a place where turtles come to lay their eggs. The longest beach there is approximately 3 kilometers long.
• Luu Doo Waterfall on Son Bay is the only waterfall in Tarutao National Park. Underwater, there are many rock formations.
• Pantaemaraka Gulf has many pine trees and a clean white beach. It has become a popular place for tourists.
• Crocodile Cave is 300 meters deep. Tourists must take a long-tail boat (which takes about 15 minutes) from Pantaemaraka Gulf and travel past the mangrove forest to reach the cave.

Ecosystem

In November 2018, the Department of Natural Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation banned the use of plastic and styrofoam containers in Tarutao Islands National Park, according to Assistant Park Director Kittipong Sanui.

Gallery

• Sunset on Ko Adang
• Beach on Ko Tarutao
• Beach on Ko Rawi
• Koh Adang
• Turquoise waters between Koh Lipe and Koh Adang