Chumphon Pinnacle
Chumphon Pinnacle is a fully submerged granite pinnacle about 11 km north-west of Koh Tao, rising from around 35 m to 14 m below the surface. Nutrient-rich water feeds huge schools of batfish, jacks, snapper and barracuda, with giant trevally and queenfish hunting at the edges. Large anemone fields with anemonefish carpet the rock and giant groupers and morays hide in the cracks. It is one of the Gulf's most reliable places to meet a whale shark, and a leopard shark is sometimes seen on the sand.
Facts
- Region: Thailand – Koh Tao & Samui
- Area: Offshore pinnacles
- Depth: 14–36 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: pinnacle
- Coordinates: 10.1725, 99.7787
- Highlights: whale shark, barracuda, batfish, trevally, giant grouper, moray eel, sweetlips, anemonefish, leopard shark
- Tips: No part breaks the surface – descend on the mooring line and watch depth and no-deco time; Advanced Open Water is the usual minimum.