Lovers of nature will fall in love with a kayak trip to a mangrove forest Langkawi in Malaysia. These forests have an important function in the ecosystem and they are absolutely unique. A trip to the mangroves includes a visit to a cave full of bats, and lunch in a fishing village.
We had reserved the trip in Dev’s Adventure Tours. The company offers several adventurous trips in nature which are totally environment-friendly. The whole trip was perfectly organized and we have plenty of great memories, and learned many new facts as well.
How does it work?
The company organizes a transport right from the hotel. Their car picked us up at our accommodation at 9 AM. It took approximately half an hour before we arrived in the river. Our guide’s name was Jerome. He immediately gained our understanding for being able to pass the information in a truly engaging and fun way.
We headed to the cave with bats at first which was nearby. We learned many interesting facts about the cave system and especially bats. We could admire stalactites and roots of tropical trees growing from the ceiling of the cave.
In the cave with bats, we learned a lot of facts about these animals
Probably the greatest joy we had was the absence of mosquitos. Our guide Jerome explained to us that one bat consumes up to 800 insects a day. In addition, the river flows into the sea, so when mosquitoes lay their eggs, the water is swept away during low tide. That is also why the river is brackish. The proportion of salt water is affected, of course, by the fact that there is a low tide or a high tide.
Floating fishing village
Right after we were back from the cave, the boat carried us to a fishing village where we could leave our backpacks and get ready for a journey. Each of us got one liter of water and big water proof bag per one kayak. Our group numbered 10 persons so we took exactly 5 kayaks. Before we set off, there was a theoretical crash course on how to paddle a kayak. The tempo was simple and when we stopped, Jerome told us something interesting about the mangroves. There were high rocks sprawling around us and reddish brown eagles which is Malaysia’s emblem, circling above our heads.
Reddish-brown eagle – the symbol of the island of Langkawi
Unfortunately, the big flock of eagles was attracted by the ship nearby, because of the food lure. It is one of the tourist attractions: offering feeding and watching eagles from close distance. Actually, it isn’t good at all for the animals. The eagles are slowly getting used to the company of humans and they do not feel the need to hunt. That causes an imbalance of the system and overpopulation of other kinds of animals which are usually the eagles’ food. So, we would like to ask you to avoid such tourist attractions. Don’t support feeding of wild animals, please.
Off to the mangrove forest with Dev´s Adventure Tours
We enjoyed great fun with our group
The mangrove forest has an amazing atmosphere
Let’s go to a mangrove forest
While we were paddling around a mangrove forest for a while, our guide found a small gate inside the forest and paddled in first. Immediately, a merciful shadow fell on us, and we slowly moved forward. We stopped several times, in order to learn something interesting about those strange trees. Jerome told us about the trees’ reproduction, and about the animals which live there and which we could possibly see if we were lucky. There were macaques jumping in the mangroves around us but neither of them dared to approach us. The atmosphere in the forest was wonderful. We could admire the plaits of tree roots in close distance and admire nature’s ingenuity. It was an unbelievable experience.
Lunch in a floating restaurant
The way back was somewhat faster because we didn’t have to stop that often and mainly we were looking forward to lunch. We had delicious Thai soup and the main course was, according to one’s choice, either vegetables, chicken, or shrimps with rice. Each was also available as non-spice. For a dessert, we had fruit. After lunch, we could explore the fish farm. We were very surprised because there were huge fish looking at us from small pens, such as fish that we know from marine aquariums. We were lucky because there was a young man who was in the middle of feeding them. It was quite a spectacle.
Excellent lunch – Thai soup and shrimp with rice
After the inspection of fish pens, we got back to the boat which took us to the shore where we went back to our accommodation by car from Dev’s Adventure Tours. We came back really exhausted. The whole trip among the mangrove trees had been perfectly organized, we met nice people and learned many useful facts about nature. It really was a day well-spent.
Contact
Phone: +6019 49 49 193
Email: info@langkawi-nature.com
Website: www.langkawi-nature.com
Tripadvisor
We were also looking at the fish pens
Thanks to Dev’s Adventure Tours for their support during our visit to Langkawi. All our opinions are based on our own experience.
Liked this post? PIN IT FOR LATER!!
Hi ,
We are in a group of interested in the mangrove kayaking trip on 27september. Is it available?
How much is the price?
Hi Oscar, I would recommend you to contact direcly http://langkawi-nature.com/ as we are not travel agency, so I am not able to answer all your questions. Langkawi-nature should help you! Good luck and enjoy your trip!