December 26, 2024, 6:10 am | Read time: 7 minutes

Thailand established its first marine reserve 50 years ago: Tarutao. The islands in the national park were spared mass tourism—which is also linked to piracy and criminal history.

The almost impenetrable jungle stretches right up to the sandy beach. In this kingdom of towering trees, lianas, and tropical plants, a symphony of chirps, buzzes, and screeches fills the air. It is full of life. But what you won’t see in the sand in the bay of Pante Malacca: any footprints. Not a soul far and wide. Hotels and beach bars? Not a thing! The only companions: crabs and monkeys.

Absolute Tranquility on Ko Tarutao

On Ko Tarutao in Thailand, you quickly get the feeling of being stranded. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. There are no gin and tonics and chill-out music at sunset. But Ko Tarutao is perfect for absolute tranquility and nature freaks. In a globalized world, places like this have become rare. Especially in Thailand, where even the smallest getaway spots quickly lose their “hidden gem” status.

All the more surprising: Ko Tarutao may be quite remote in the Andaman Sea on the border with Malaysia, but at 150 square kilometers it is anything but small. Stretching 26 kilometers in length and 11 kilometers across, the island ranks as the fourth largest in the country. So why is it that even Thailand fans are often unaware of Ko Tarutao, and why has it remained such a natural idyll?

Ko Tarutao is Thailand’s First Marine Reserve

The answer goes back 50 years. Thailand’s first marine national park was established here on April 19, 1974. It consists of 51 islands in the southern Andaman Sea, spread over an area of 1,450 square kilometers. Alongside Ko Adang and Ko Rawi, Ko Tarutao is the largest island in the park, which also gave it its name.

Many of the islands, such as Ko Khai with its natural rock gate, which has become a symbol of the park, are uninhabited islets. Ideal refuges for sea turtles, for example, which lay their eggs here. Dolphins, whales, and manatees live on the reefs with rare coral species. The islands themselves are home to macaques, monitor lizards, herons, wild boars, toucans, and pythons.

“As there were hardly any people living on these remote and inaccessible islands, the flora and fauna here was more untouched than on other island groups 50 years ago,” says park ranger Bonkhun Rarueng. This is the reason why a marine national park was established here.

Mountains and Rainforest

In addition, the mountainous island, whose highest peak measures 708 meters, is covered by dense rainforest and limestone cliffs, which makes agriculture practically impossible. But there is another reason why such a large island has not been populated like its southern neighbor, the Malaysian Pulau Langkawi: Tarutao was once declared a place of exile. In 1939, the government in Bangkok turned it into a prison island.

“This is where the prisoners arrived back then,” says Rarueng after a motorcycle ride through dense jungle and a subsequent walk to Talo Wao Bay on the East Coast. Penal colonies were also set up in Talo Udang Bay on the southern tip of the island.

From the pier, the ranger leads you along the “Historical Trail” to the remains of the penal colony. Wooden barracks, a governor’s house, a small hospital—all long since overgrown and destroyed by the jungle. By the end of the Second World War, the government no longer cared about Tarutao. Food supplies from the mainland were stopped. “Prisoners and guards alike suffered from hunger and eventually became pirates, attacking and plundering merchant ships in the busy Straits of Malacca,” says Rarueng.

In doing so, they provoked the naval and trading power of Great Britain. But the impassable jungle island served as a good hiding place. It was not until 1964 that the British Royal Navy was able to put an end to the piracy.

Electricity Only Between 6 p.m. and Midnight

Today, the National Park Authority rents out a few simple stone bungalows on Ko Tarutao, idyllically situated on the beach. The construction of hotels is prohibited. The restaurant, often besieged by playful troops of monkeys during the day, serves just breakfast and dinner.

The island is only supplied with electricity between 6 p.m. and midnight. There is no television or internet, no cabs or tuk tuks, and no tourist infrastructure like on Ko Samui or Phuket. “Most Thailand vacationers are looking for more service, more comfort, and more party,” says the ranger.

The handful of visitors can rent bicycles to navigate the jungle’s embrace, seeking out secluded bays and hidden waterfalls, all while under the watchful gaze of curious hornbills. The challenges are the inclines of the mountainous island and the tropical temperatures.

Most of the jungle hiking trails end at dream beaches, such as the four-kilometer-long Ao Son Beach, which is also hard to beat in terms of solitude. However, human traces can still be spotted: garbage from the tourist islands washes up on many of Ko Tarutao’s beaches. “We rangers can’t fight it,” says Rarueng.

However, everything you do on the national park island is a little adventure: for example, the short jungle hike to “Cliff View Point” with its Buddha statue and the fantastic panorama of the northern part of the island, or a kayak tour on a river into the interior of the island to the crocodile cave. The rangers rent out kayaks and headlamps at the national park pier. You can take a photo of the printed aerial photo of the route.

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Indescribable Feelings

With the tide out and enough drinking water, we set off. The tour to the cave takes a good two hours through a labyrinth of mangrove forests. And what if you turn off into the wrong tributary? No boat crosses your path. Herons fly over the water. The feeling of paddling alone through this natural paradise is indescribable.

Suddenly a jetty appears. Moor up and get out. A path of perhaps 200 meters leads to the entrance. Stalagmites and stalactites appear in the light of the headlamp. A kind of plastic walkway leads over the river, which continues underground, deeper into the cave.

You have to stoop; the ceiling is so low and thousands of bats hang from it. It’s just as well that the rangers told us beforehand that they hadn’t seen any crocodiles here for decades.

After the excitement of the tour, back at the restaurant, hunger sets in. Eating the Pad Thai is a piece of cake. In the bungalow, the next adventure begins as night falls: the jungle surrounding the secluded dwelling really comes to life.

All that remains is to surrender to the exotic symphony of sounds and the soft patter of monkeys on the roof. What else did Ranger Bonkhun Rarueng say? “Ko Tarutao seems suspended in time, offering a glimpse of how other Thai islands might have appeared a century ago.” Taruato means “mysterious one”. There could be more inappropriate names.

How To Get There

How to get there: From Bangkok by plane to Hat Yai or Trang. Continue by bus or cab to Pak Bara, from where ferries depart for the national park.

Location on the Map:

With material from dpa