Langkawi

Looking for beautiful beaches and quite disappointed by Penang’s seaside I moved with the ferry to Langkawi.
We are talking about an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea off the northwest coast of Malaysia, the largest of the islands is Pulau Langkawi. The only other inhabited island is Pulau Tuba.

Pulau Langkawi extends about 25 km north to south and slightly more from east to west. The coastal areas consist of alluvial plains dotted with limestone ridges and mountains covered with forest.

In 2007 Langkawi was given by UNESCO the status of Geo-park.

The oldest geological formation of the island, Gunung Matchincang, was the first part of Southeast Asia to rise from the bottom of the sea during the Cambrian period, more than half a billion years ago. The oldest part of the formation is observed in Teluk Datai to the north-west of the island, where the outcrop exposed is mainly made by sandstone (now quartzite) in the upper part, and shales in the bottom part.

All the limestone rocks mountains of island, intrinsically porous, are rich in caves.
Several areas remain to the mangroves habitat in the northern part of the island near the beach of Pantai Tanjung Rhu.

Pantai Cenang is one of the most popular beaches of Langkawi, full of budget accommodations, but it’s quite chaotic and polluted.
Renting a scooter you can visit the beaches in the north of the island, much more quiet and clean.

The route winds through paved roads that run into the jungle, really nice… until I was left with two flat tires in the middle of nowhere!

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