Langkawi: 20 routes

Ancient rock, mangrove rivers, rice plains and a hundred islands: twenty slow routes around the Malaysian archipelago of legends, well beyond its duty-free shops and beach bars.

I came to Langkawi expecting a beach and a duty-free bottle of something, which is what most people in Kuala Lumpur told me it was. What I found was stranger and older: grey Cambrian cliffs that are some of the oldest rocks in Malaysia, mangrove rivers where eagles circle over limestone towers, paddy fields with buffalo, and a story about a wronged woman and her curse that every taxi driver can tell you. I shot three rolls in the first two days and had to ration film for the rest of the trip.

These routes cover the places I return to and the ones I send friends to: the mountains and waterfalls of the west, the mangroves and quiet beaches of the north, the rice country inland, Kuah town and the islands scattered to the south. Each has practical notes and a little of the history behind it. Ferries, tickets and opening hours change, so treat this as a starting point and check locally.

Practical tips first

Up Machinchang: the cable car and the Sky Bridge

Machinchang & the westhalf a dayEasy

A steep cable-car ride up some of the oldest rock in Malaysia to a curved steel bridge hanging over the rainforest, with the whole west coast below.

Seven Wells: pools above the jungle

Machinchang & the westhalf a dayModerate

A staircase through the rainforest to a chain of smooth rock pools where water slides from one basin to the next, and the view runs down to the sea.

On foot up the Machinchang ridge

Machinchang & the west1 dayHard

A steep, rooty climb through old-growth forest from the Seven Wells to the summit ridge, the slow and sweaty way to earn the view the cable car gives away.

Pantai Kok and the beach of skulls

Machinchang & the westhalf a dayEasy

A quiet coastal drive from the bay under the mountains to a small public cove with a grim name, golden sand and almost nobody on it.

Kilim: mangroves, limestone and eagles

North coast & Kilimhalf a dayEasy

A slow boat through mangrove channels and limestone towers to bat caves, fish farms and a narrow sea passage where eagles wheel overhead.

Fireflies on the mangrove river

North coast & KilimeveningEasy

After dark, a small boat drifts along the mangrove edge while thousands of fireflies pulse in the trees, and fruit bats cross a sky full of stars.

Tanjung Rhu: casuarinas and a sandbar

North coast & Kilimhalf a dayEasy

A long white beach shaded by casuarina trees, where at low tide you can wade across to small islands and watch limestone stacks catch the evening light.

Datai: rainforest and Temurun falls

North coast & Kilim1 dayModerate

The north-west corner of the island, where old rainforest runs down to a sandy bay, hornbills fly overhead and a three-tiered waterfall drops beside the road.

A rainy day: Galeria Perdana, crafts and black sand

North coast & Kilimhalf a dayEasy

When the rain sets in, a museum of extraordinary gifts, a handsome craft complex and a beach of black sand make a fine, unhurried day.

Gunung Raya: the island from the top

Mountains & rice countryhalf a dayEasy

A narrow road through dense forest to the island’s highest point, where hornbills call, mist drifts through the trees and the whole archipelago lies spread below.

Durian Perangin: cascades in the north-east forest

Mountains & rice countryhalf a dayEasy

A shady forest staircase beside a series of cascades and pools, where local families come to cool off and the dry-season crowds never quite arrive.

Mahsuri: the tomb, the curse and the burnt rice

Mountains & rice countryhalf a dayEasy

A quiet white tomb among paddy fields tells the island’s most famous story: a wronged woman, white blood and a curse that lasted seven generations.

Rice plains, buffalo and the hot spring village

Mountains & rice country1 dayEasy

A slow loop through the island’s rice bowl, past wooden houses, buffalo wallows and roadside stalls, to a hot spring tied to the legend of two quarrelling giants.

Pantai Cenang: sand, sea and sunset

Pantai Cenang & the southwest1 dayEasy

Langkawi’s busiest beach: a long curve of pale sand, warm shallow water, island views and a sunset that brings the whole strip to a standstill.

Evenings in Cenang: night markets and street food

Pantai Cenang & the southwesteveningEasy

After sunset the island moves to the night markets, where smoke from satay grills mixes with the smell of fried bananas and the chatter of families.

Kuah: Eagle Square, the mosque and the waterfront

Kuah & the southhalf a dayEasy

The island’s small capital, where a giant eagle guards the harbour, a white mosque rises over the water and ferries come and go from the mainland.

A food trail through Kuah

Kuah & the south1 dayEasy

From roti canai at dawn to grilled fish by the water at night, a day of eating your way through the island’s working town.

Island hopping: the lake of the pregnant maiden

Islands & the seahalf a dayEasy

A speedboat circuit of the southern islands: a freshwater lake hidden behind a limestone ridge, eagles over the cliffs and a sandbank beach for a swim.

Pulau Payar: coral and reef sharks

Islands & the sea1 dayEasy

A day trip to a protected island where you snorkel among coral, parrotfish and young blacktip reef sharks in clear, shallow water.

Pulau Tuba: the island where Langkawi slows down

Islands & the sea1 dayEasy

A short boat ride from the main island to a sleepy inhabited island of fishing villages, paddy fields and empty roads, where life moves at bicycle speed.

Prices, opening hours and rules change. Treat these notes as a starting point and check current information before you go.