Phi Phi island

Six islands make up the group, the two largest being Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Le. Ko Phi Phi Don covers 10.27 square kilometres, stretches about eight kilometres in length and three‑point‑five kilometres in width, and hosts a resident community of two to three thousand people, most of whom are Muslim. Its white sandy beaches and limestone cliffs give way to coral‑rich waters protected by the national park’s 242,437 rai (approximately 38,789 hectares) marine reserve. Ko Phi Phi Le, at 1.27 square kilometres, is famed for Maya Bay—closed from June 2018 to January 2022 to allow the ecosystem to recover after receiving up to five thousand tourists and two hundred boats daily—and for the Viking Cave, where edible bird’s nests are harvested.

Tourism surged after the film’s release, prompting a five‑baht entry fee in 1992 and a later twenty‑baht levy to fund waste removal, yet the islands still generate tens of tonnes of waste each day, much of it untreated. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed most infrastructure, and ongoing environmental pressures have led activists to call for visitor caps. The combination of cinematic fame, striking limestone scenery and a fragile marine environment makes Phi Phi’s Maya Bay a uniquely recognized symbol of both allure and conservation challenge.