Langkawi Island – Calm, serene and stunningly beautiful.
Away from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur, is a gem of an island, which has almost everything to offer for nature lovers: Beaches, mountains and also artistic man-made monuments.
Langkawi Island is just an hour’s flight from KL. It is a small town and it is known for its beach resorts and the one that we stayed in – Century Langkawi Beach Resort – did not disappoint.
We – Sakshi and I – had a sea-facing room and waking up every morning to the gushing sound of the waves is something that will be forever etched in our memories.
While tourists come to the island for a day or maybe two, there is much more to see on the island than many think.
Here is a list of things we did in Langkawi:
Island hopping: This is the best way to explore the island. There are numerous planned trips and the one we picked kicked-off at Kilim Karst Geoforest Park. It has several mangroves, surrounded by sea, which gives you a chance to peek into the distance, where you will see nothing but pure blue water until your eyes can see.
After that, we went past another island called the Pregnant Lady, because you know, it looks like one.
Finally, we went to the Beras Basah Island, where once again there was a beach and you could choose to take a dip or just feel the water on your feet.
From there, we were dropped off from where we were picked up. Our resort had made arrangements for pick up and drop to and from the ferry, which made life easier.
Our advice would be that you check with your hotel about the packages for island hopping and pick the one that suits you the best. We spent MYR 55 per person, which is a good deal.
Eagle Square: Not too far away from our resort was the Eagle Square – the iconic monument of Malaysia, where a huge eagle overlooks the entire island. It is best to go there around sunset as you will get excellent photographs.
Right in front of the majestic eagle, the word “LANGKAWI’ is written in bold letters, which gives an opportunity for the tourists to take a photo in front of it. The eagle is swamped by water on all four sides making it a splendid experience. There is also a gift shop on the premises, where you can buy some souvenirs.
Cable car and Langkawi Sky Bridge: Have you seen Don the Bollywood movie, starring SRK? The climax scene where he fought Boman Irani was shot on the Langkawi Sky Bridge.
It is a suspended bridge, which is about 2,500 feet tall. If you are someone who has a fear of heights, I would strongly not recommend it. However, despite her fear of heights (and shaking bridges) Sakshi braved her way from one end to the other and today, she is glad.
There are many observation points from where you can enjoy the lush green and serene blue water, which will be at a distance. However, be careful of monkeys as they might snatch bottles out of your hand or bag.
But if you don’t bother them, they will not bother you. To get there, you have to take the cable car, which is an exciting experience in itself. We spent a total of MYR 65 per person for the entire experience.
Seven Wells waterfall or Telaga Tujuh: If you like hiking, this is the place for you. There are about 1,000 steps you will have to climb in order to reach this waterfall. A couple of times, we gave up halfway, but we soldiered on and eventually reached the summit.
The view you’ll get from there is stunning. You will also see cable cars moving up in the air, making their way to and from the sky bridge. However, do not go here, if you think you will not be able to make the steep climb.
Beach hopping: On our final day, we decided to look at some of the beaches on the island. There were some with black sand and some with white sand.
1) Black Sand Beach: From our resort, we first head to Pantai Pasir Hitam, the black sand beach in Langkawi. [Pentai, in Malay, means beach.] The beach was around 19Kms from Kedah Town, where our resort was situated.
Sitting calmly away from the city, the beach might not be considered popular for beach and water activities, it surely offers serenity and contentment. The black colour of the sand, which is apparently fabricated from the mineral contents in the sand, is nothing but a delight to a traveller’s eyes.
2) White Sand Beach: It is about a 10-minute drive from the Pasir Hitam beach. Once you hit the Tanjung Rhu road, you’ll find a coastal road that’s straight all the way and ends at the public beach.
Once you enter the beach, it’s a long stretch of soft and clear white sand that goes miles ahead on the right side. On the left side falls the private beach of Tanjung Rhu resort, which is separated from the public beach with a fence.
On a sunny day, the sand can get really hot and I clearly remember how difficult it was to walk on it barefoot. Although the beach is fringed on one side with dense casuarina trees, you will not find enough shades there.
However, there is always a cool gentle breeze flowing from the Indian Ocean and that will help you deal with the annoying heat. The beach is also around 20 minutes away from the Cable Car’s Oriental Village.
3) Pantai Cenang: This beach was hands down our favourite, mostly because we spent the most time there and also visited it in the evening. Although it is one of the busiest beach towns on the island, it had a different charm of its own.
There were enough people around, but the beach still offered us several memories to forever cherish. The beach is known for its diverse cafes and restaurants along with the souvenir and duty-free shops.
We had already short-listed the Yellow Cafe even before reaching Malaysia and fair to say, the place did not disappoint us even for a second. You can read more about the cafe HERE.
The beach, which is as long as 2kms with a gentle curve, is fringed with palms, coconut and other trees. Sit at any corner or spot on the beach, the view of the ocean and other close-by islands is always stunning. You can also find all kinds of watersport activities across the beach.
To find out more about our Malaysia trip, click here.
Comments by Pramod Ananth