Koh Lipe (also known as "Ko Lipe") is a small island in the south Andaman sea on the west coast of Thailand. It is located in Satun Province, close to Langkawi island (Malaysia), about 70 Kilometres (38 miles) from the mainland.
It is part of the Tarutao National Marine Park, a large group of over 70 islands, and also part of a smaller cluster of islands called the Butang Islands or Adang Archipelago.
It measures only 2km long and 1 km wide and is famous for some of the best dive sites in Thailand. Koh Lipe offers a rich abundance of coral reefs with an amazing variety of huge hard and soft corals as well as plentiful array of marine life such as turtles to huge rays which draws many lovers of diving to discover this beautiful underwater tropical paradise.
Tarutao National Marine Park consists of a group of 70 islands in the Southern part of the Andaman Sea, near the Thai - Malay border. Two clusters of islands lay in between 20 and 70 kilometres from the mainland.
The largest island is Koh Tarutao and is over 10 kilometres wide and about 26 long. This mountainous island is covered mainly with rain forest and there are several mangrove swamps. A few long sandy stretches of unspoiled beach and some caves can also be found.
The second group of islands that makes up the marine park is the furthest away from the mainland and includes Koh Lipe, Koh Adang, Koh Rawi and Koh Dong.
The largest islands Adang and Rawi are almost completely covered with rain forest. During rainy season several waterfalls run of Adang into the sea. The waters around Koh Lipe and it's neighbouring islands are very clear and house a wide variety of living coral and other marine life.
