KRABI INFORMATION

Krabi (Thai: กระบี่) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea.

Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang. The Phuket province to the west is also neighboring, but without any land boundary. The capital of the region is the city of Krabi.

Geography

The province is located at the shore to the Andaman Sea. Most notable are the solitary limestone hills, both on the land and in the sea as islands. Rock climbers from all over the world travel to Railay Beach to climb. Of about 130 islands belonging to the province, Ko Phi Phi Lee is perhaps the most famous, as it was the set of the movie The Beach.

Other islands include: Ko Phi Phi Don, part of the Phi Phi Islands, and Ko Lanta, a larger island to the south.

The limestone hills contain many caves, most having beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. Tham Chao Le and Tham Phi Hua To, both in Ao Luek district, contain prehistoric rock-painting depicting humans, animals as well as geometrical shapes. In Lang Rong Rien cave in 1986 archaeologists found 40,000 year old human artifacts - stone tools, pottery as well as bones. It is one of the oldest traces of human occupation in all South-East Asia. The caves of Krabi are also one of the main sources of nests of the Edible-nest Swiftlet, used to create bird's nest soup.

History

The first human remains in the province date back to 25,000 - 35,000 B.C., but the first recorded history dates back to Kingdom of Ligor in 1200, when the city Ban Thai Samor was part of this kingdom. In modern Thailand, Krabi was administered from Nakhon Si Thammarat, even after 1872 when king Chulalongkorn gave Krabi the status of a town. In 1875 it was made a direct subordinate of Bangkok, thus becoming what is now a province. In 1900 the governor moved the center of the province from Ban Talad Kao to its present location at the mouth of the Krabi river.

Administrative divisions

Krabi is subdivided into 8 districts (Amphoe), which are further divided into 53 communes (tambon) and 374 villages (muban).