Junkyard Reef

Junkyard gets its name honestly — the site is built around a collection of sunken objects and debris that, over time, has become colonised by marine life in the same way any artificial reef structure does. What started as scattered junk has evolved into a genuinely interesting dive site, particularly for divers with an interest in muck diving and macro photography.

The sandy, silty bottom typical of muck diving sites means visibility can be lower than at Koh Tao’s classic reef sites, but the trade-off is the kind of small, unusual marine life that favours this type of environment. Nudibranchs, frogfish, and other macro subjects are commonly found here, rewarding divers who slow down and search carefully rather than swim through quickly.

Junkyard isn’t a site for everyone — divers looking for big animals or dramatic topography will find more elsewhere on Koh Tao. But for underwater photographers and anyone with a genuine interest in the smaller, stranger corners of marine life, it’s one of the most rewarding sites on the island.

The site is best dived with a guide who knows where to look — much of what makes Junkyard worthwhile is easy to miss without local knowledge of where specific critters tend to be found.