Koh Panyee

Koh Panyee, also known as Ko Panyi, is a giant limestone cliff located at estuary of a river along the coast of Phang Nga Bay, on the way to James Bond Island. The limestone rock became famous thanks the Muslim village built on stilts about 200 years ago at the feet of it. Only a very small part of the village, as where the mosque is built, is on solid ground, the rest grew on stilts and slowly continues to grow. Koh Panyee is really a complete village with a school, police station, a small health centre and a mosque. The resident population consists of about 1,700 people, all descendants of two Malaysian nomadic seafaring families, who moved here from Java, Indonesia, at the end of the 18th century. The central part of village is a concrete floor connecting dozens of small souvenir shops, and from there, a narrow maze of uneven planks lead to the population’s houses. Near the main piers there are dozen of seafood restaurants where you can enjoy a good soup Tom Yam Kung or other dishes based on fish. Koh Panyee is a unique village full of life, colours, lights and smells, and offers plenty of photo opportunities.
What to Expect - The boat day trips to Koh Panyee depart from the Mhak Prok Pier, in the northeast of Phuket. Most of the tours include visits to the other islands of the bay as James Bond. You can buy tour packages to any tourist agency of Phuket with varied possibility of choices. You can opt for a simple rides with long-tails, day trips on large boats with 100-200 seats or speedboats with 25-40 seats, relaxing cruises on Chinese-style wooden junks or more adventurous packages, which provide part of the trip by canoe. Price varies depending on the option chosen, roughly range from 1,600 to 1,800 THB for a trip by large boat, 2,200-3,000 THB for speedboat tour, and about 3,500-4,000 THB for a cruise on junk. Usually the tours include the transfer by minivan from your hotel, the roundtrip by the chosen boat; tropical fruit, water, coffee or tea on board; lunch buffet in Panyee Village; tour guide and insurance.Read More