Hin Daeng and Hin Muang

Hin Daeng (Red Rock) and Hin Muang (Purple Rock) are perhaps the best wall diving sites in Thailand situated about 25 kilometers south west of Koh Rock.

Hin Daeng is seen as a rock protruding about three metres above the surface but underwater the rock is huge. To the south it descends straight down to over 60 metres forming the most radical vertical drop in Thailand seas.

The wall is dotted with light growths of soft corals and a few sea fans, with an eastern slope with two long ridges that descend into the blueness where it is possible to swim along these ridges down to 40 metres or more.

There is a vast quantity of soft coral along these ledges and a great diversity of marine life including barracudas, tuna, groupers and of course many different species of reef shark, especially the grey reef shark which can be seen large groups of up to ten. It is an extremely exhilarating sight.

Hin Muang is a completely submerged pinnacle also abundant with a huge variety of marine life. The name comes from the thick purple growth of soft corals that are found here. The pinnacle is about 200 meters long, and narrow with steep, vertical sides and a rounded top.

There are many large sea fans including red, white and orange, with a large covering of anemones and clown fish at the top. There is also a good chance of seeing whale sharks and manta rays here and the visibility can be up to 50 meters or more!

To dive here you should be fairly advanced diver since the currents can be a bit strong and the formation of the rocks makes it quite easy to go deeper than 30 meters so you should be aware of your depth.

Fusiliers and rock cod © 2003 Steve Rubin, divers at coral by Anders Hjorth