| Duration: | 8 Hour(s) - 0 Minute(s) |
| Tour Category: | Diving |
Exploring Myanmar's Underwater Jewel: The Seafan Forest Pinnacle
Located approximately 40 nautical miles west of the Myanmar-Thailand border town of Kawthaung, the Seafan Forest Pinnacle is a world-class scuba diving destination within the remote Mergui Archipelago. This massive, submerged pinnacle is a haven of vibrant marine biodiversity, aptly named for its spectacular collection of giant, colorful gorgonian sea fans that create the illusion of a thriving underwater forest.
The dive site, sometimes referred to as Rocky Peaks, is a submerged limestone and granite structure that rises from the depths to just 5 meters (16 feet) below the surface. Its walls and ledges are adorned with a tremendous density of healthy orange and rose-hued sea fans, some exceeding 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter. These slow-growing, flexible soft corals are essential indicators of a healthy marine ecosystem and provide a complex habitat for countless marine organisms.
Diving into this underwater wonderland, explorers are greeted by a kaleidoscope of life. The site is a hotspot for underwater photography, featuring schools of rainbow runners, unicornfish, and bannerfish swirling around the pinnacle. The sea fans themselves shelter juvenile snapper, lionfish, and bearded scorpionfish.
Divers often spot macro-life gems like ornate ghost pipefish, seahorses, harlequin shrimp, and various species of moray eels and cuttlefish. The deeper, sandy edges are a resting place for leopard sharks, whitetip reef sharks, and marbled stingrays, while occasional lucky sightings of manta rays and eagle rays add to the thrill.
Optimal diving conditions, characterized by excellent visibility (10m to over 40m) and calm seas, typically run from November to April.
Due to its open-ocean location and potential for strong currents, it is primarily accessed via liveaboard diving safaris departing from Thailand's Phuket or Khao Lak. The Seafan Forest Pinnacle is an essential stop for any serious diver visiting the Andaman Sea, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the rich, untouched marine environment of Myanmar.
Program:
This may be the finest diving trip. 2 dive in Seafan Forest Pinnacle, the dive site with a forest of beautiful giant seafans, where you have a very good chance to see some of the big stuff. And another 2 dives for that day are Western Rocky, one of the best dive sites in Myanmar.
There is one of the highlights is a tunnel(cave) at 20 meters depth that goes all the way through the island. There are good chances of seeing Bow-mouth Guitar Fish, Nurse Shark, Grey reef shark, CuttlefishesHarlequin Shrimps, Frogfish, Sea Horse, and a lot of Lobsters.
