AO NANG TRAVEL GUIDE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Ao Nang Beach Krabi, Thailand

Hat Pranang ( Ao Nang Beach) is a long, beautiful stretch of beach, located just south of Hat Noppharat Thara. This stretch of beach is rapidly developing, however, it still remains quite stunning. In addition to the broad, white-sand beach, Hat Pranang has clean, clear water and a backdrop of striking limestone islands and cliffs. There are a total of 83 small islands in the bay, and they can be explored by boat trips arranged by many of the guesthouses. Unlike Hat Noppharat Thara, Hat Pranang is a full service beach offering a wide variety of recreational water sports. This entire area offers excellent Scuba diving, with both reefs and a wide variety of marine wildlife.


Tham Pranang Beach

The area possesses some of the best Scuba-diving sites in the world, with certified instruction courses offered on site. In addition, some of the most sought after rock-climbing sites are found in the vicinity, making it a perfect area for a truly complete vacation.

Hat Tham Pranang can be reached from town via longtail boat from the Chao Fah jetty for a fee of 40 baht, and also from Hat Pranang, and the Phi Phi Islands. These trips cost 20 baht and 150 baht respectively.

Krabi Informtaion
Krabi has perhaps the country's oldest history of continued settlement. After dating stone tools, ancient coloured pictures, beads, pottery and skeletal remains found in the province's many cliffs and caves, it is thought that Krabi has been home to homo sapiens since the period 25,000-35,000 B.C. in recorded times it was called the 'Ban Thai Samor', and was one of twelve towns that used, before people were widely literate, the monkey for their standard, At that time, c. 1,200 A.D., Krabi was tributary to the kingdom of Ligor, a city on the Kra Peninsula's east coast better known today as Nakorn Sri Thammarat.

At the start of the Rattanakorsin period, about 200 years ago, When the capital was finally settled at Bangkok, an elephant kraal was established in Krabi by order of Chao Phraya Nakorn (Noi), the governor of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, which was by then apart of the Thai kingdom. He sent his vizier,the Phra Palad, to oversee this task, which was to ensure a regular supply of elephants for the larger town so followers many emigrated in the step of the Phra Palad that soon Krabi had a large community inthree different borouhs : Pakasai, khlong Poh, and Pak Lao.

In 1872, King Chulalongkorn graciously elevated these to town status, called Krabi, a word that preserves in its. meaning the monkey symbolism of the old standard. The town's first governor was Luang Thep Sena, though it continued a while as a dependency of Nakhon Sri Thammarat. This was changed in 1875, when Krabi was raised to a fourth-level town in the old system of Thai government Adminictrators then reported directly to the central government in Bangkok, and Krabi's history as a unique entiry, separate from the other provinces, had begun.
During the present reign. the corps of civil servants, the merchants, and the poputation of Krabi and nearby provinces together organized construction of a royal residence at Laem Hang Nak Cape for presentation to her Majesty the Queen. This lies thirty kilometers to the west of Krabi Town on the Andaman coast.

Boundaries

Geography
Krabi's mountainous physical geography is broken by nighlands and plains on the mainland; the provincial administration also covers more than 130 islands big and mangrove and Cassia trees.
Krabi's sandy clay soil conditions are perfect. For a variety of agricultural product, including : Rubber trees, palms, oranges, coconuts, and coffee.
Krabi's mountainous physical geography is broken by highlands and plains on the mainland; the provincial administration also covers more than 130 islands big and mangrove and Cassia trees. Krabi's sandy clay soil conditions are perfect for a variety of agricultural products, including : Rubber trees, palms, oranges, coconuts, and coffee.
The Krabi River flows 5 kilometers through the city and falls into the Andaman at Tambon Pak Nam. There
are other streams as well: The Klong Pakasai ; the klong Krabi Yai ; and the Klong Krabi Noy ; these have
their source in the province's highest range of mountains, the Kao Panom Benja.

Administration
Krabi is divided into eight districts : Amphoe Muang (Krabi town), Kho Panom, Khlong Thom, Plai Phraya, Ko Lanta, Ao Luk, and Lam Thap and, Nhua Khlong.

Population
Krabi's estimated poputation, as of 31 March 2001, was 366,919.

Weather
Weather in Krabi is typically that of the tropical monsoon, providing the province with just two seasons, the hot season from November to April, and the rainy season from May to October. Monsoon winds, which change according to season, blow from the southeast, the southwest, and the northeast. Temperatures for the year range between 16.9 and 37.3 degrees Celsius; yearly rainfall averages 2,586.5 millimeters.

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Local Festivals

Krabi Berk Fah Andaman
This festival takes place in November and celebrates the opening of the tourist season in Krabi. Watersport competitions, caltural shows, and good-natured fun are the schedule.

The Setting Adrift of the Chao Ley Boats
Takes place on Lanta Island during full moon of the sixth and eleventh months in the lunar calender. This is a religious rite performed by sea gypsies who gather on the beach near Ban Saladan Village.
They dance their famous Rong Geng round the boats to be set adrift Ceremonies feature singing and dancing; the reason for the fest it to bring prosperity and happiness to the participants, it is something hard to find elsewhere.

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Provided by Tourism Authority of Thailand