Langkawi island is an archipelago of 104 islands lying in the north western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The exact location of these tropical islands is at the site where the Straits of Malacca meets the waters of the Andaman Seas.

The largest of these islands is called Langkawi Island and is bigger than the Penang Island.The other islands in this group are Island of Pregnant Maiden (Pulau Dayang Bunting), Lion Island (Pulau Singa Besar) and Beras Basah Island.The smallest of these islands are atolls roughly the size of an ordinary house!

Langkawi is coined from the Malay words Lang and Kawi. Lang is a brown eagle and Kawi is a local manganese stone.The ancient fishermen must have seen eagles flying clutching the manganese stones! A giant monument of a brown eagle clutching the manganese stone greets all visitors to Langkawi near the Kuah Jetty.

The main tourist attractions of Langkawi Island is its virgin white sandy beaches.The beaches have very gentle continental slope and the water is crystal clear.

This island is unique in the sense that it has so many legendsand myths associated with it.Langkawi Island is therefore also called Pulau Lagenda or Legendary Island.

The most talked about legend is that of Mahsuri who is said to have laid a curse on this island for seven generations.Luckily the period of this curse is over now and Langkawi Island is fast becoming an internationally recognised tourist destination.

The government of Malaysia has declared the entire Langkawi Island as a duty free zone. Hence this island is also termed Duty Free Island.All goods sold in this island are exempted from government tax.Therefore this Legendary Island is a haven for the shoppers.You only need to stay in Langkawi for a minimum of 48 hours to take back home a reasonable amount of tax free goods.

Getting There

By Taxi From Alor Setar or Arau, you can take a taxi or bus to Kuala Kedah or Kuala Perlis respectively and then proceed by ferry to Langkawi.

By Plane The Langkawi International Airport at Padang Matsirat is about 20km from Kuah and eight km from the beach resorts in Pantai Cenang. Direct air services from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi are provided by Malaysia Airlines on a daily basis and Air Asia five times weekly. Silk Air also flies regularly from Singapore to the island. There are also direct international flights to Langkawi from Osaka and Taipei.

By Rail Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) or Malayan Railway provides comfortable and economical rail services from Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar and Arau. By Ferry
Express ferries provide regular services daily to Langkawi from both Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis. The journey to Langkawi from Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis takes 1 hour 15 minutes respectively.

Source: http://cuti.com.my/Sub/Kedah/guide_langkawi_island.htm

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