Pulau Payar

Pulau Payar is an little island 19 nautical miles off Langkawi Island. This tropical paradise is breath-takingly beautiful and despite its size, has more than ample stretches of beaches to explore and have all to yourself. The island is filled with lush greenery and the warm waters teeming with thousands of colourful marine fish that swim eagerly up to you, hoping for morsels of food.

Ferries provide daily trips for tourists and visitors to the island from Kuah in Langkawi. You can also visit the island from Penang or Kuala Kedah. A basic pacakge from any of the operators would be to bring you to Pulau Payar, a trip that takes around an hour by ferry, with lunch in the afternoon and back to Kuah by evening. While you're on the island, you can choose to explore the forest through a trail or just relax on the inviting beach. Snorkeling gear is provided by the tour operators and you'll definitely want to get into the water to observe the marine life.

The immediate waters around the beach are home to a large coral reef that hosts thousands of colourful marine fish. A string of floats placed about 60 meters from the beach provides a safety boundary and prevents motor boats from coming in, though this is often violated. The waters are dramatically clear for you to observe fish, shrimps and eels dancing around the corals with goggles.

A common practice is to feed the fish with bisquits and bread from the dock, or even from the beach. The fish will swarm the area in the thousands and take food right off your hand. Pulau Payar is also a popular place to swim with baby black-tipped sharks. These sharks will swim eagerly in the shallow waters but feeding these creatures is highly discouraged.

This is due to a past incident where a visitor got a little part of his finger removed by a baby shark in a feeding frenzy. Other than enjoying the waters, the island is small enough for a short trek that will lead you through coastal forest. Amazingly, the beautiful forest on the island is quite pristine. All snakes on the island have been removed over time for 'public safety'.