Located on southern Thailand's east coast, 800 kilometres south of Bangkok, Krabi province is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Classic virgin beaches fringed with towering limestone formations, is an understatement to describe this stunningly beautiful area of Thailand. The Krabi coastline is dotted with rarely visited tropical islands, palm fringed beaches, waterfalls, caves, and strange rock formations.

Relatively new to tourism, the area is being carefully developed with no real high rise hotels and a wide range of places to stay from small bungalows to the five star prestigious, but relaxing Sheraton Rayavadee Resort. Most accommodation is located around the beach areas of Ao Nang, Rai Ley and Phra Nang with some small local hotels in the provincial capital, Krabi town.

Krabi is a great place to relax. The pace is unhurried and many beaches can only be reached by boat, keeping development to a minimum. Much of the province has been designated national park. The Hat Noppharat Thara-Ko Phi Phi National Park incorporates many of the mainland beaches, over 80 smaller islands and the Phi Phi islands - made famous as the idyllic location for the Hollywood film ‘the Beach” and popular with yachtsmen, scuba-divers, snorkellers and day-trippers from Phuket.

The Ko Lanta National Park, also in Krabi province, includes several coral-fringed islands, prime diving sites, and comparative solitude. The largest island, Ko Lanta Yai, is the site of park headquarters, and is also home to Chao Le, or sea gypsies who sustain themselves largely through fishing. The islands are best visited during the non-monsoon months of October through April.

As well as beautiful and relaxing scenery, Krabi offers an adventure playground for those who like to get "out and about." Kayaking, sailing, birdwatching, snorkelling, island hopping and sightseeing are just a few. In the interior, two predominantly mainland national parks, Khao Phanom Bencha and Than Bokk-horani, offer inland scenic attractions including waterfalls and caves, and opportunities for trekking, birdwatching and eco-tours.

Locale and Landscape

Covering an area of approximately 4709sq km, Krabi province is bounded by Phang Nga and Surathani provinces from the north, Trang province and the Andaman Sea from the south, Trang and Nakorn Si Thammarat provinces from the east and Phang Nga province and the Andaman Sea from the west. Krabi's landscape is undulating and dotted with hills and mountains, the highest of which is Khao Phanom Bencha at 1,350m.

Along the 160km coastline of Krabi are alternately bays and capes - which viewed from the air reveal a jagged outline with outcrops of limestone mountains rising up from the sea waters. 

Much of the coastal area is covered by mangrove forest which serves as a natural breeding ground for Krabi's diverse aquatic life. Inland, Krabi's extensive deciduous forest area are mainly reserved and feature high flora and fauna biodiversity.

Industry 

In recent years, with it's natural attractions such as tropical islands, palm fringed beaches, forest waterfalls and caves attracting more and more sunseeking adventure-bound tourists, Krabi has begun to earn a substantial income from its tourism industry. Predominantly however, it is an agricultural based area, with sandy clay soil conditions, like many surrounding provinces, making it ideal for producing rubber, palm oils, oranges, coconuts, and coffee. Rubber is the main cash crop grown with over 700,00 rai being under cultivation for this purpose.

Palm oil comes in second, followed by coconuts. Fishing is widely carried out along the coastline and on most larger islands, and although traditional methods are still in use, modern trawling techniques are threatening numbers and the industry. Shrimp and cockle farming has been a high growth industry since the early 1990's, and there is also a flourishing grouper farming industry.

People

The people of Krabi represent a mix of different races who over history came to settle from different regions. It is said that each group of people represent a different page in the history of Krabi. The Chao Ley or "Sea Gypsies" reside on various of the islands in Krabi's waters, and traditionally made their living from wandering around fishing and diving for their livelihood.

Their small communities are in danger of overexposure to tourism, and inevitable assimilation, however some of their traditional ways are presented in the yearly sea gypsy sailing ritual held in May on Koh Lanta, Koh Pu and Koh Cham.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Southern Chinese people flocked to Thailand in search of work and many made their way to the south of Thailand to work in local industry.

In more recent times, there involvement has been high in oil palm plantations and gypsum mining. Despite the assimilation of Chinese people and their descendants with local people over time, many retain vestiges of their Chinese heritage.

Many still retain the ability to speak Chinese, have Chinese (and Thai) names, and observe Chinese rituals and religious beliefs. Being in close proximity to Malaysia