Tanintharyi, better known by the old name Tenasserim, is a division of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the Kra Isthmus. It borders the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east. To the north is the Mon State. The capital of the division is Tavoy (Dawei). The other main city is Mergui.

The division covers an area of 42844 sq-km, the population is over 1.3 million. The division is sub-divided into 5 districts: Amherst, Mergui, Tavoy.
Historically the area belonged to the Burmese kingdom for most of the time, but was also sometimes a tributary of the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. At the end of the First Myanmar War in 1826 Tenasserim became part of the British colonial empire with the Treaty of Yandaboo. It was then part of Lower Burma.

With the independence of Burma in 1948 the northeastern part of Tenasserim became the Karen State (now named Kayin). In 1974 the Mon state was created, taking the northwestern part of Taninthayi. As the previous capital Moulmain is in the Mon state, the capital of Tenasserim was moved to Tavoy. In 1989 the division was officially renamed to Tanintharyi.

Mergui Archipelago
Mergui Archipelago, located in southernmost part of Myanmar, comprises over 800 beautiful islands. Due to its virtual isolation, the islands and surrounding seas are alive with an amazing diversity of flora & fauna and very beautiful underwater scenes and marine life.

The only human inhabitants in the area are sea gypsies, namely Salon in Myanmar. They live on boats during dry season and remain on land during rainy season. They still practice the same fishingg and boat building techniques used for generation.