Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
PENANG NATIONAL PARK
(Taman Negara Pulau Pinang; admission free, canopy walkway adult/child RM7/5; canopy walkway 10am-1pm &
2-4pm Sat-Thu)
At just 2300 hectares, Penang National Park is the smallest in Malaysia; it's
also one of the newest, attaining national-park status in 2003. It has some interesting and
challenging trails through the jungle, as well as some of Penang's finest and quietest
beaches.
The
office
( 881 3500; 8am-6pm)
at the park entrance has a few maps and leaflets and
can help you plan your day. Just across from the main park office is the
Penang Nature Tourist
Guide Association
(PNTGA; 881 4788;
www.pntga.org
; 8am-6pm)
office, which offers guide ser-
vices with a slew of options, such as trekking (four hours for RM100) and many where you
can hike one way then get a ride back in a boat (four hours including boat transport for two
people RM200), and also specialist tours such as bird-watching, seasonal visits to a turtle
hatchery and mangrove tours. It's best to reserve longer tours in advance with agencies
around George Town or at your hotel.
The park entrance is a short walk from Teluk Bahang's main bus stop. From here it's an
easy 20-minute walk to the 250m-long
canopy walkway
, suspended 15m up in the trees from
where you can hear water flowing from the mountain and get a view over the broccoli-
headed park. The walkway was being renovated when we stopped by, and closes if it's
raining. From here, you have the choice of heading towards Teluk Tukun and Muka Head
or to Pantai Kerachut. The easiest walk is the 20-minute stroll to
Teluk Tukun
beach where
Sungai Tukun flows into the ocean. There are some little pools to swim in here. Following
this trail along the coast about 25 minutes more brings you to the private University of
Malaysia Marine Research Station, where there is a supply jetty, as well as
Tanjung Aling
, a
nice beach to stop at for a rest. From here it's another 45 minutes or so down the beach to
Teluk Duyung
, also called Monkey Beach, after the numerous primates who scamper about
here on the beach on
Muka Head
, the isolated rocky promontory at the extreme northwestern
corner of the island. On the peak of the head, another 15 minutes along, is an off-limits
1883 lighthouse and an Achenese-style graveyard. The views of the surrounding islands
from up here are worth the sweaty uphill jaunt.
A longer and more difficult trail heads left from the suspension bridge towards
Pantai Ker-
achut
, a beautiful white-sand beach that is a popular spot for picnics and is a green turtle
nesting ground. Count on about two hours to walk to the beach on the well-used trail. On
your way is the unusual meromictic lake, a rare natural feature composed of two separate
PARK
