Many
diving operators can be found either located
within a hotel or at dive centres around
Pulau Langkawi. Most diving (if not all) is done around
the Pulau Payar Marine Park group of islands.
Strict conservation laws enforced by the Marine
Park rangers around the islands have resulted
in prolific marine life.
A unique highlight in Pulau Payar are the juvenile black tip
sharks to delight the throngs of snorkelers who visit the Marine Park
Centre.
Although at
times the plankton-rich waters can reduce
visibility, the abundance of fish make up
for the drawback. Fusiliers, jacks, black tip sharks,
barracudas and groupers are sighted on a
regular basis. The coral life is a mixture of
hard and soft corals. Pulau Kaca is a
favourite for easy, shallow wreck diving,
with dozens of sunken fishing trawlers
providing refuge for a variety of marine
animals. The Pulau Payar group of islands
offer the best diving on the west coast of
the peninsula.
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Pulau Payar
Located 30
km southeast of Langkawi. This marine
park covers several of islands
with Pulau Payar being the largest. An
hour to get there from the Kuah Jetty by
speedboat. A floating platform moored
off the island has a restaurant and
underwater observation area. Good place
for snorkelling.No accommodation. Best
diving on the western tip to the south
and east of the island. |
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Coral Garden
The Coral Garden is off the western
tip of Pulau Payar. Dive site features
hard and soft corals along the rocky
terrain with depths from 5 to 15 metres.
Huge boulders covered with dendronephythya soft corals offer
numerous crevices that attract marine
life seeking refuge from predators. Fish
life is abundant, with damsels,
fusiliers, lionfish, schooling jack and
occasional huge groupers. |
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Grouper Farm
This dive site towards the southern
end of Pulau Payar is home to small
schooling fish nervously darting about
due to the presence of numerous
groupers. Hard corals dominate the
seascape with the reef top gradually
sloping down to about 15 meters to the
sandy bottom. If a slight current is
present, a drift dive is the best
approach to this site, but watch out for
spiny sea urchins. |
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Pulau Kaca
Pulau Kaca, east of Pulau Payar,
offer easy wreck diving. Rocky topside
topography gives way to hard coral
growth at 5 metres and slopes to a sandy
bottom at about 18 metres. No bearings
required to access the wrecks. Coral
blocks on the sandy bottom inhabited by
lots of small reef fishes, mollusks and
nudibranch. Maintain good buoyancy, as
seabed is littered with sea urchins. |
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Pulau Segantang
This twin
rocky outcrop is located 13 kilometres
west of Pulau Payar. Pulau Segantang
features steep rocky terrain that drops to
a sandy bottom at 20 metres. Nurse
sharks, barracudas and jacks are very
common here. Fusiliers swim curiously
around intruding divers. Hard corals and
sea fans on the slopes between 15 to 20
metres. Lobsters, moray eels and mollusks commonly observed. |
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