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Mergui Archipelago

Mergui Archipelago, located in southernmost part of Myanmar (Burma), comprises over 800 beautiful islands. Due to its virtual isolation, the island and surrounding seas are alive with an amazing diversity of flora & fauna and very beautiful underwater scenes and marine life. Just north of the Surin Islands, an imaginary line divides Thai waters from Myanmar's Mergui Archipelago.

Also known as the Myeik (Mergui) Archipelago, this immense area covers approximately 36,000 sq km (14,000 sq miles) and included roughly 800 islands. Diving here is still in its infancy, as the entire region has been off-limits to outsiders since the late 1940s. The archipelago was opened for tourism in 1997, yet much of the area remains unexplored. The islands are similar to their Thai counterparts, eg. Phuket, Surin with rugged, high-profile, limestone and granite topography. One obvious difference, aside from the sheer number of islands, is their unspoilt terrestrial scenery. Among those islands are various mangroves,wild life, caves, lagoons fresh water falls and rivers in the forest. Dense bush and rainforest cover most areas above the high-tide line, while vast stretches of mangroves and magnificent mile-long white-sand beaches are interspersed with rocky headlands, tidal creeks and a few freshwater rivers. The only human inhabitants in the area are Mokens or Salone Sea gypsies. They live on boats during dry season and remain on land during rainy season. They still practice the same fishing and boat building techniques used for generation.

National Geographic's "Burma's Fobrbidden Islands" (Burma's Gypsies of the Sea) documentary film by Klaus Reisinger and Frederique Lengaingne shows indepth analysis of the Moken (Salone) Sea Gypsies. "Gypsy Secret: Children of sea see clearly underwater John Travis" also observed that researcher Anna Gislon of Lund University in Sweden investigate and proved Moken kids can see the underwater better than the European kids. (Source: www.sciencenews.org)

Another National Geographic magazine article also mention that Mokens the survived the 2004 tsunami by observing dogs behaviour and following ancestors' belief.

Mergui Archipelago is perfectly designed for Adventure tours and Eco-tourism. Dive Sites here are considered to be world class. Reefs, drop-offs, sea mounts, caves and tunnels, which sometimes cut right trough and island with exits on both sides. Fish life is abundant. Scuba diving in the Mergui Archipelago usually means frequent encounters with sharks, manta rays, large swarms of eagle rays, and occasionally, whale sharks. The reefs are in excellent condition.

South sea pearls are also the famous product of Mergui Archipelago. In recent years the technology to breed oysters was successfully tested in Myanmar waters which paved th way to produce those world famous pearls in quantity. Previously pearl farms had to collect oysters from sea bed. Now the pearl industy in Myanmar estimate to produce one hundred thousand quality pearls each years. We can also arrange tours to those area as well.

HOW TO GET THERE!

From Thailand, You must first get to Ranong - a border town on Pakchan River. You can ger there by -

Bangkok-Surat Thaini by flight and Surat Thani to Ranong by car (2½ hours)Bangkok-Phuket by flight and Phuket to Ranong by car (4 hours)Bangkok-Phuket by Bus. The bus leaves from the bus terminal (Sai-Tai-Mai in Thai) at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Please the most updated times. It takes around 9 hours to get to Ranong.Bangkok-Chumphon by train and Chumphon-Ranong by car.There are International Direct Flights to Phuket and regular bus and mini-vans to Ranong from Phuket. In Ranong, at the jetty you can just hop on any long tail boat which will take around 45 minutes to get to Victoria Point. You just tell the boat man that you need immigration stamp and they will point you the right direction. The Burmese Immigraiton is right at the Myoma Jetty (5 minutes walk from long tail jetty).

From Yangon (Myanmar), you can fly to Kawthaung (Victoria Point). Air Bagan flies 3 times a week and less punctual Myanmar Airways has daily flights. Please note that the flights can be cancelled due to weather or other unpredicatable circumstances. You can also leave the country from Kawthaung-Ranong Immigration check point.

There are express boats running daily from Dawei and Myeik to Kawthaung. It takes about 9 hours from Dawei and 6 hours from Myeik to Kawthaung. Ask for travel permits from Expeditions office.

Travel permits

The pre-approved permission is needed for every tourist traveling to Mergui Archipelago and those arriving from Yangon and departing from Kawthoung to Ranong-Thailand. We could take care of all the application for necessary permissions. Normally, it takes about 7-14 working days (depending on the availability of authorized officials) to get the approval and the following information are needed.