Twin Peaks
For
good reason one of the most popular dive sites of Koh Tao. It offers
good diving for all levels of divers. I like to call it an aquarium dive
site as there are so many small and colorful fish teeming around the
reefs. The shallow areas are fantastic for snorkeling.
Twin
Peaks has nothing to do with David Lunchs tv series from the 1990s but
with two rock formations, which are beautifully overgrown with corals,
sponges, clams and anemones.
The video is a bit older and with German description but its worth to watch.
There will be new of videos in the future.
The
smaller rock formation lays in the shallows 6-12m, is surrounded by
sand and for those reasons a great place for Discover Scuba Diving and beginner courses.
The
larger rock formation is a bit deeper 13-16m. Also surrounded by sand
offers it many places for all kind of Scuba courses. I did my Advanced Open Water Diving Navigation Training dive here. It was so easy as the
visibility was so great I didn't really had to use the compass to swim
the asked patterns.
Let's
talk about the surrounding sand first. Because often neglected it
offers so much to discover. I'm a fan of sand dives and I found the
strangest things there. Different kind of sea snails crawling under the
sand and forming a typical trail. Many instructors see those trails but
don't. Very interesting to observe is the relationship of the gobi and
shrimp. While the gobi is the watchdog the shrimp burrowing a home. They
are some real talented architects. Fascinating. What else to find in
the sand: sole fish, craps and if you look long enough or are just very
lucky Indian Ocean Walkman (spiny devilish).
Enough about the sand. Most of you will prefer to dive around the rock formations, to peek into the countless holes and cracks and enjoy the colorful coral gardens teeming with colorful fishes. Looking under ledges chances are good you find a blue spotted stingray, potato grouper or moray eel.
There is a small rock formation at a depth of around 18m. I love this place. It's probably my favorite spot at Twin Peaks. It's overgrown with leather corals. I've seen a few times turtles feed on them. Across the rock are a few larger cracks. If you take your time to search these cracks you can find dancing shrimp, small see-through cleaner shrimp, pipe fish and white eyed moray eel. Some years you can also find small yellow box fish, which is arguably the cutest thing on earth.
Snorkelers
have a good chance to see some baby blacktip reef sharks. They like to
linger in the very shallow waters. Be careful not to damage any corals
or hurt yourself. If you are lucky to see a shark, stay calm and don't
chase them away. They are more scared of you than you of them. If they
are in a good mood you can observe them for a few brief moments.
Otherwise
the best snorkeling parts are in the northeast near the coast. I prefer
to swim a bit outside the bay. The water becomes often clearer there.
The architecture of the rocks and marine life are stunning. But be aware
of current. There is often a current towards north. If you swim too far
with the current it can get hard to swim back. Inside the bay you find a
flat coral garden with several bigger coral blocks.
Twin
Peaks is unique for its artificial buoyancy world. There are sculptures
made of concrete to give the beginner diver an interesting area to
improve their buoyancy skills without needing to worry to damage the
underwater world. But even experienced divers enjoy to swim around this
park of curios.
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