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.
