Ko Tapu — Phang Nga Bay – World Art Utopia

Ko Tapu

StandingJul 2026

Natural formation · limestone sea stack, Bond location since 1974 · off Khao Phing Kan, Ao Phang Nga National Park, Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), taken 18 February 2007, as published on Street Art Utopia.

Ko Tapu is a natural limestone sea stack about 20 metres high, standing just off Khao Phing Kan in Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay. No one built it: it is a karst pillar shaped by the sea. In 1974 it appeared in The Man with the Golden Gun, and it has been called James Bond Island ever since. Source Source Source Checked

Standing Jul 2026: a Travelers Today travel report published 13 July 2026 (publication date, not a photo date) describes tours stopping at Ko Tapu for 30 to 45 minutes. A dated Commons photo of the rock was taken on 8 January 2019. Source Source Reported

More photos

Ko Tapu standing in the gap between the two cliffs of Khao Phing Kan, seen from the water at a distance — **2014** Setting between the cliffsPhoto: Robert Haandrikman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

💡 4 things to know

Wider at the top
Atlas Obscura describes a vertical pillar “stretching wider at the top than it does at the bottom”. Showcaves.com and Wikipedia say the sea is eroding the rock at its foot. Source Source Source Checked
Boats kept away
Wikipedia and Travelers Today say boats have been kept from approaching Ko Tapu since 1998 to slow erosion of its base. A Phuketwan report from about 2008 describes a separate ban on boats passing between the rock and a neighbouring outcrop, then two years old. Source Source Source Reported
Name means nail
Ko Tapu means “nail island”, after the rock’s shape; the Thai tourism brochure calls it Khao Tapu. Atlas Obscura retells a legend that a fisherman who caught no fish pulled up only a nail. Source Source Source Source Checked
Symbol of the province
According to Phuketwan, the rock “is the symbol of the province”, and park staff were to check daily that boats kept their distance. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

In the north-west of Phang Nga Bay, about 40 metres off the shore of Khao Phing Kan, inside Ao Phang Nga National Park; reached by boat tours from piers around the bay. Coordinates are the object location tagged on a 2013 Commons photo of the rock, so they are approximate. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin 8.27471, 98.50006, approximate, from this source. The button opens a plain map.

🗓️ Sightings

1974
Filmed for The Man with the Golden Gun
199026 Jul
Photographed from the beach
1998
Boats kept from approaching
200718 Feb
Photographed in Phang Nga Bay
201417 Aug
Photographed with Khao Phing Kan
20198 Jan
Photographed with tour boats
202613 Jul
Tours still stop at the rock

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Travelers Today13 July 2026

James Bond Island Kayaking Surges: What to Know Before Maya Bay Closes August 1

“Since 1998, vessels have been prohibited from approaching Ko Tapu directly”

Read the source →

Phuketwanundated (about 2008)

James Bond Island to topple; ban on tour boats

“The outcrop, known locally as Koh Tapu, (the nail) is the symbol of the province.”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

What: Natural limestone sea stack (karst pillar); no maker Source Source Source Checked
Height: About 20 m (66 ft) Source Source Source Source Checked
Film: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Source Source Source Checked
Park: Ao Phang Nga National Park (established 1981) Source Source Checked
Boat rule: Kept from approaching the rock since 1998, per Wikipedia and Travelers Today Source Source Checked
Name: Ko Tapu / Khao Tapu, “nail island”; nicknamed James Bond Island Source Source Source Checked
Status: Standing; tours still stopping there in July 2026 Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 9 November 2026. How we verify art

Ko Tapu — Phang Nga Bay

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