A famous beach in Krabi from Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach is recovering its wildlife after having been overrun by tourists in the past. The beach, called Maya Bay, closed in 2018, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, because of how much tourism damaged the ecosystem. Now, plant and animal species that disappeared are returning. The bay has reopened to visitors, however they are not allowed to swim. This way, sunscreen won’t damage the reef.
The most notable animal to return to breed in the bay is the blacktip shark. A park ranger told NPR that before the park closed, when there were over 5,000 tourists a day, no one would ever think of seeing sharks. He said now, on a good day, 160 sharks can be seen.
“And when the tide goes down, I can see all the new coral and crabs and shrimp. It makes me very proud.”
Other visitors, both Thai and foreign, were emotional, struggling to find the English words to describe how beautiful Maya Bay is. One woman from Germany said it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. A Thai tourist said the water was so beautiful and clear that she was tempted to swim, but she understood why she couldn’t.
Park rangers are strongly enforcing the no-swimming rules. They fined one French tourist 5,000 baht for swimming.
Boats are no longer allowed on the bay, either. Instead, there’s a purpose-built dock on the other side of the island to drop passengers, who then take a short walk through the jungle to the crescent shaped beach.
SOURCE: NPR