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Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh island of the Phi Phi Archipelago, is famous as the location of the movie "The Beach", starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Released in 2000, it focused on a group of backpackers looking to create their own private utopia on an unbelievably beautiful island in Thailand. Part of the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, the stunning cove is surrounded by dramatic cliffs and boasts an exquisite, 250-meter white crescent strand that is the platonic ideal of a beach. In the wake of the movie, the trickle of visitors to Maya Bay became a deluge. As many as 4,000 arrived daily on flotillas of tourist boats that damaged the coral and scared off the blacktip reef sharks that used the bay as a mating pool. Crowds trampled the delicate sea floor. To stop further damage, authorities closed Maya Bay to tourists in June 2018.When it reopened in January 2023, visitors were limited to 380—not per day, but per hour. Approaches by boat were banned, as was swimming. “The best solution is nobody comes,” says marine biologist and professor Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat. Pollution and boat traffic had destroyed almost 80% of the bay's coral reefs. Photo by Patrick Aventurier/ABACAPRESS.COM