Phuket Dive Guide : Eight Miles rock
About the location and site
The coral formation at Eight Miles Rock (Hin Paad Mile) is completely submerged. It is named from its position, just 8 miles south of Koh Lipeh. Noted for the large palegics that cruise past, devil rays, manta rays and eagle rays are common, along with leopard shark. Sighting for whale sharks have actually been up over the whole of the Lipeh group of islands, with most sightings coming at 8 miles rock. Smaller palegics such as hunting trevallies, mackerel, tuna, and giant barracuda hunt the many smaller reef fish.
The coral formation at Eight Miles Rock (Hin Paad Mile) is completely submerged. It is named from its position, just 8 miles south of Koh Lipeh. Noted for the large palegics that cruise past, devil rays, manta rays and eagle rays are common, along with leopard shark. Sighting for whale sharks have actually been up over the whole of the Lipeh group of islands, with most sightings coming at 8 miles rock. Smaller palegics such as hunting trevallies, mackerel, tuna, and giant barracuda hunt the many smaller reef fish.
The rock itself starts at roughly 15m and falls away to over 50 metres deep. Densely covered in purple, blue, and red soft tree coral, all common reef species can be found here in great abundance and size. Visibility can be up to 45m vertically and over 30m horizontally. The shallowest part is about 12 - 14 metres from the surface and soft coral grows in the areas sheltered from current, such as the deep southern channel. A closer inspection will reveal shrimps in the rock crevices and maybe some nudibranchs amongst the beautiful yellow daisy corals. Look around during the dive and you may just encounter a massive potato grouper that come up from the deeper waters. Huge schools of Batfish also sometimes appear.
Phuket Dive Guide dive maps : Eight miles rock
