Phuket Geography

Phuket Island itself is mainly granite

with low forested mountains and a series of fine white-sand beaches,

 mostly on the west coast. Much of the forest has been cleared, 

first for rubber plantations and then for tourism development.

The one remaining significant stand of virgin rainforest is the Khao Phra Thaeo

 Park a protected national park area where you can take short treks or visit the waterfall.

Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, mainland and islands alike, 

have the same dramatic limestone ("karst") scenery of the Phi Phi Islands. 

Many different tours leave daily for Phang Nga, well worth a visit.

Khao Sok National Park, on the mainland just to the north of Phuket

, has large areas of tropical forest, which have an amazing variety of

 plants and animals. Eco-tours have started in the last few years, offering the opportunity 

to experience the forest and get close to nature. Most operate in small groups to minimise 

any impact on the environment.

Islands

Two distinctively different varieties of island are found in the Andaman Sea, each of them scenically striking in its own way. Low-relief granite intrusions, which include the Surin and Similan islands, run in series roughly parallel to the more dramatic limestone islands. Island groups such as Koh Phi Phi have been shaped by a variety of forces from a massive limestone platform that was deposited 350 million to 450 million years ago.