Monkey Beach is located on the southwestern side of Tonsai Bay, on Phi Phi Island in Thailand: it is a splendid one hundred and fifty meter long strip of fine white sand, surrounded by emerald water. The inner part of the beach is made up of a rather steep limestone cliff, covered with lush vegetation that offers the monkeys a comfortable habitat, from which it takes its name.
The island became famous thanks to the film "The Beach", a film made in 2000 by Leonardo Di Caprio; on the other hand much criticized because the film company had damaged the pristine environment of the island, planting palm trees as they pleased. Tourism in this area, however, increased precisely after the release of this film, resulting in continuous economic repercussions on the surrounding villages.
Today, tourists go to the island not only to see the monkeys but also to carry out other recreational activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking. The shallow waters are home to colorful and vibrant underwater habitats, which really give the feeling of swimming in an aquarium. Underwater fauna includes giant clams, schools of parrotfish, yellow damselfish atop schools of coral, and clownfish in their anemones.
The climate of this area is characterized by two seasons, the first, rainy, begins around May and ends at the end of November, while the second, the warm one, begins at Christmas and ends in April.
