Hin Daeng & Hin Muang Dive Sites

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The scenery of Hin Daeng

The scenery of Hin Daeng

Nudibranch - Phillidia varicosa

A colorful anemone, with many 'fans'

Nudibranch - Phillidia elegans

Banded Coral Shrimp

 
Hin Daeng and Hin Muang are a pair of dive sites about an hour's sail south of Koh Ha. These two sites may well be the best that the south Andaman has to offer, which is why people are willing to endure two hours in a bouncing speedboat to get there. It's much better to take a two day / one night live-aboard to get there, so you can dive in the morning before the other boats show up.

Hin Daeng

Hin Daeng is a large pinnacle with three stone peaks that break the surface of the water by a meter or more. The hard rocks are covered with reddish soft corals - hence the name of the site, which translates to "red rock". Below the surface, the three pinnacles join and become one large outcrop with a sharp drop-off around most of the edges. The currents can be strong here, and the visibility poor, but it's at these times when you're more likely to see large pelagics. I last dived this site when the currents were almost dead calm (which is rare) and conditions were almost crystal clear. It was a lovely dive, although the school of barracudas the hang around the pinnacles near the surface were the largest things we saw.

Hin Muang

Hin Muang is just a 100 meters or so from Hin Daeng, but none of it breaks the surface and the site is just marked by a couple of buoys. Hin Muang is more of a ridge than a single pinnacle. Its shape has been compared to a loaf of French bread. The 'highest' of the peaks is still 8 meters below the surface and the mount is covered in purple soft corals, which give the site its name (muang is Thai for "purple").

Currents on this dive can be quite strong, so a typical dive uses the buoy ropes to get down to the protection of the ridge. Once down, you can use the pinnacle to shield you from the currents, but watch your depth since the bottom is around 60 meters here. The big draw to Hin Muang is the chance to see mantas, with the chance of seeing whale sharks as well in March and April. Aside from the big boys, there are morays, groupers and other reef fish.

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