Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Koh Tao location page.
Overview
Solo limestone pinnacle midway between Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, rising from 40 m to surface. Famous for its vertical chimney swim-through from 18 m to 6 m. Reliable whale shark encounters in season.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalWhale sharkPeak: Mar · Apr · May · Aug · Sep · Oct
- year-roundSchooling chevron barracuda
- year-roundBigeye trevally
- year-roundPink anemonefish
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceWhale shark
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Mar, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Feb | 27–29 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Apr | 29–31 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| May | 29–31 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Jun | 29–30 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jul | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Aug | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Sep | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Nov | 27–29 °C | 5–15 m | moderate |
| Dec | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Dive computer — Profile through the chimney swim-through.
Next step
Book your trip to Koh Tao
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
Plan your trip →Some links earn us a commission. Learn more