Pulau Payar – renown as the Pearl of Langkawi, is the most scenic marine park in the west peninsular. The marine park is claimed as the most beautiful due to the existence of coral reefs and clear sea water. It is the only marine park in the west of peninsular and is an-hour boat ride away from south of Langkawi.
There are clusters of islands within that area which include Pulau Payar (the biggest), Pulau Kaca, Pulau Lembu and Pulau Segantang. The marine park, with its natural beauty unfettered by the pollution and development, will definitely be in their itinerary.
Visitors may swim in the clear water and amuse themselves by “playing” with the friendly fishes and just south of Pulau Payar, there is a coral park, where divers and snorkelers may find an abundance of soft coral reefs. For the more adventurous divers, they may go to Pulau Segantang by boat, a trip that will take them about 10 minutes. Here, they may find bigger fishes such as sharks, giant sea-perches (more than 2 metres long), barracudas, eels and many others.
How to get there
We can only get there by scheduled boat ride from Langkawi or Penang. Transportation is never a problem as there is a number of travel agencies that offer that very service. The fare is RM150 (half price for children) which includes a return trip ticket, meal and snorkeling fees.
The boat to Pulau Payar will depart from Kuah Jetty or Pantai Cenang every 9.30 a.m and return at 3-4 p.m. For those
who are willing to spend more for extra comfort, they can choose the service of a 45-minute ride by 162-seater ferry.
This ferry departs from Kuah Jetty every 9.30 a.m and leaves Pulau Payar at 3 p.m. The fare is RM220 (RM140 for children below 14 years old) and it includes lunch buffet, snorkeling fees, watching marine life through an undersea observation hall and riding a glass bottom boat around Pulau Payar.
Facilities
There are no accommodation facilities nor are there any basic amenities such as water and electricity to preserve the marine park natural ecosystem. However, visitors are allowed to camp provided they have obtained an approval from the Dept. of Fisheries (04-7342135). The maximum number of campers allowed at any one time is 30 people and they have to bring their own camping tools. There is a marine park that is operated by the Dept. of Fisheries that is equipped with information and pamphlet circulation counter, telephone booths, barbeque area and toilets. Even though the marine park has no water supply, the toilets in this center get their supply from natural water resources for visitors’ use.
Two trekking paths are built to enable visitors to enjoy the view and watch the flora and fauna around the island. They may also climb 183 steps to reach the highest point of Pulau Payar and enjoy the beautiful panorama of the azure water. A floating reef platform called “coral pontoon” is about 100 metres from the beach. The roofed platform is equipped with a restaurant, toilets, changing room and the undersea observation hall. Although there are no accommodation facilities at Pulau Payar, there are plenty of choices at Langkawi, from budget class to five-star hotels and apartment-style accommodations. They are priced from as low as RM35 per night for a budget chalet in Kuah to RM1,000-per night suite. Travelling to Kuah Jetty from the hotels are not a problem as these hotels would normally provide transportation, otherwise, visitors may take a cab that will cost them only RM4 from Kuah town to the jetty.
Reminder
Visitors are prohibited from fishing, destroying, removing or killing any of the marine life such as the mollusks, seashells, fishes, coral reefs. Littering is an offense and visitors are required to take along the litters with them when they leave the island. The opportunity to visit this incredible marine park will definitely leave everlasting memories, with its beautiful idyllic beaches, clear blue water with abundant reefs, sea cucumbers with a variety of colours and all the friendly fishes that swim near the beaches. Pulau Payar is undeniable the place to get acquainted with the richness of the marine life.
