Hin Muang or ‘Purple Rock’ – is known as the Lanta Manta Cleaning Station and Whale Shark Navigation Point. Located 70km south of Ko Lanta, it boasts good visibility, unless the waters become extremely plankton-rich. It is this plankton that attracts the larger marine-life and there is a high chance of seeing Manta Rays and passing Whale Sharks throughout the season.

Hin Muang is completely submerged and derives its name from the vast number of purple corals covering the pinnacle.
The reef is 200 meters long and less than 20 meters wide, there are three main pinnacles and several smaller ones. The reef starts at 12m, and there is often some current, so we use a line for descents and ascents.

Hin Muang offers something for everyone, with many macro delights as well as fantastic wide angle opportunites. Out in the blue, there is action galore with snapper, trevallie, rainbow runners and other pelagics feeding in the currents.

The manta rays come here to be cleaned on the top of the pinnacles, swimming in slow wide circles to make the most of the plankton rich waters and passing whale sharks often stop to feed here, much to the delight of the divers in the area!

Recently, we have been lucky enough to find a purple Lacy Scorpionfish hiding amongst the soft purple corals, a fish not often seen in this area. The lacy scorpionfish can be recognised by its distinctive head shape, the large upturned mouth and dangly tentacles on the snout. The species varies in colour from yellow to brown, purple, green or black and is covered by a maze-like pattern. It can grow up to 30 cm and is known to live in coral reefs from depths 5 – 30metres.
This species is a master of camouflage and blends in very well with its background and quite often can be seen hiding under plate corals and ledges on coral reefs. It also remains well disguised when hiding in amongst crinoids as it blends in with the fine fronds of the feathery invertebrate. So set yourself the challenge to find this amazing little creature and be rewarded with some beautiful images of him!

Due to the location, sometimes strong currents and depth of this site, it is only considered suitable for advanced divers or divers with over 20 dives who have dived in these conditions before.