White Rock

White Rock lies about 2 km off Koh Tao's west coast and is one of the largest sites around the island, made up of two main granite formations with a little coral garden and a patch of sand at around 9 m between them. Its specialty is night diving: it is the most popular night site on Koh Tao, when great barracuda hunt along the edges, cuttlefish, squid and pufferfish come out and triggerfish and sometimes turtles sleep wedged in the cracks. The site runs north to south, from a shallow northern rock that almost reaches the surface and gives the site its Thai name Hin Kao, to the southern pinnacle at about 22 m. By day, blue-spotted ribbontail rays hide under ledges, white-eyed moray eels peer from holes, titan triggerfish nest and can be territorial in breeding season, and turtles feed on the soft corals. Currents are usually mild and the site is sheltered in most weather, so it suits Open Water divers as well as photographers, navigation training and night divers.