Thailand: Hat Noppharat Thara, Krabi Province

Thailand: Hat Noppharat Thara, Krabi Province

Hat Nopparat Thara is located about 18 kms north-west of Krabi Town. The beach used to be called Hat Khlong Haeng (Dry Canal Beach) because the canal that flows into the Andaman Sea here is dry except during, and just after, the monsoon season. Now it’s called Hat Nopparat Thara, which when translated is quite beautiful – a Pali designation meaning 'Beach of the Nine-Gemmed Stream' with reference to the small canal that flows into the Andaman Sea at this point. It’s around 2km long and forms part of the Hat Nopparat – Ko Phi Phi National Park, which has provided the area with some degree of protection against environmental degradation. Krabi Province is made up of more than 5,000 sq km of jungle-covered hills and sharp, jagged karst outcrops, as well as more than 100km of luxuriant, pristine coastline and around 200 islands in the neighbouring Andaman Sea. About 40 per cent of the provincial population is Muslim, the remainder being predominantly Buddhist. This is a clear indication that Krabi sits astride the invisible diving line between Buddhist Thailand and the four southern provinces—Satun, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani—which are predominantly Muslim. Far from causing any sort of problem, this adds immensely to the cultural width and diversity of the province, blending mosques with temples, Malay cooking traditions with Thai cuisine, and giving the province a pleasantly relaxed multi-cultural feel.

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