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Thailand's first
marine national park, established as such in
1974, Tarutao lies off the coast of Satun
Province and comprises of 51 mountainous and
forested islands, with caves, mangrove swamps
and beaches strung along their shorelines. The
dramatic beauty of the scenery is all the more
striking when considered with the island's
history.
The word 'Tarutao'
is derived from Malay and translated as old and
mysterious, a reference to the legend that the
islands were long hidden from the world and were
to remain troubled after a curse was cast upon
them by a beautiful princess who was wrongly
accused of adultery. Whether one believes in the
curse or not, it is a historical fact that the
archipelago was for centuries a dangerous haunt
of pirates, and an unsavory reputation persisted
into the 20th century when, between 1939 and
1946, Tarutao was a penal colony.
Perhaps largely due
to this dark history, which kept the islands
remote, Tarutoa today is as near pristine in its
natural beauty as can be found anywhere in the
country. For the visitor there are various
trails, fine beaches, superb views and much more
to discover, including a comparatively rich
fauna among which wild pigs, crab-eating
macaques, dusky langurs and monitor lizards are
all fairly common. The surrounding waters are
home to dolphins and sea turtles, while whales
and dugongs, although rare, have also been
spotted.
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