Tanjung Tuan

Port Dickson

Mangroves ~ Tanjung Tuan

Tanjung Tuan is located a short distance down south from Port Dickson Town, a popular beach-side destination for city folks. Tanjung Tuan is essentially a small cape of coastal forest that was spared development and gazetted into a park for bird-watching, especially for raptors, as well as a tourist attraction. The forest is composed of both rainforest and mangrove swamps.

The waters are also rich with corals, making it a popular collecting ground for marine aquarists. If you use the two main jungle trails in the forest that start from the lighthouse, you will eventually reach some beautiful beaches where you can swim in crystal-clear waters to your heart's delight.

While it is often associated with Port Dickson, and hence, the state of Negeri Sembilan (of which Port Dickson is part of), Tanjung Tuan actually falls under the jurisdiction of Malacca. This forest has quite a number of bird species, including jungle fowls which often scurry across the jungle trails, and the famous raptors that come here to roost in the first quarter of the year.

The forest also brims with insects and reptiles, including large monitor lizards and the ocassional snake. Tanjung Tuan was the site of a famous battle between Portugese and Dutch forces in 1606, a time when Malaysia was under the influence of colonial forces. The cape was named 'Cape Rachado' by the Portugese and they built a lighthouse on it to guide their ships.

When they lost the battle for control over the Malaccan Straits, the cape went to the Dutch before eventually falling into British hands when they arrived a century later. Tanjung Tuan is essentially a translation of Cape Rachado in the Malay language, and it is correct to use the English name today.

To access Tanjung Tuan, one should head down south on the main road from Port Dickson Town and watch out for the signboard on the right that states either 'Blue Lagoon' or 'Cape Rachado'. Turn into the small road and it will be a short time before reaching the entrance to the park.