Why Langkawi is the Perfect Place for Teaching Kids Geology in Paradise
Spending time in nature is easily one of the biggest draws for families traveling the world with kids. And for good reason! Studies have shown that getting kids into more natural settings is beneficial for a myriad of reasons, ranging from decreased stress levels to increased scores on standardized tests!
Of course, it’s also just plain fun to explore incredible places like Langkawi’s Global Geoparks!
In all, Langkawi has 4 different geoparks to explore, each with their own educational focus. And all of them are worth a look.
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Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park
As you may have gathered from the “geo” part of “geoforest,” a large part of UNESCO’s interest in Langkawi has to do with its incredible geology. Put as simply as possible, Langkawi and its surrounding islands are composed mostly of limestone and granite. The limestone is older, dating back to the Paleozoic-era. When the tectonic plates in the area collided, this limestone was pushed above the waves. Around that same time, the island’s granite formed from molten rock and found its way to the island’s surface as well.
That in itself is pretty interesting, and definitely worth talking about with your kids. (Limestone is my favorite type of rock!) But the result of all that cool geology is a stunning series of mountain vistas and dense tropical forests brimming with life.
And, as it turns out, the Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park is possibly the best place to visit if you want to take it all in.
Gunung Machinchang and the Langkawi Sky Bridge
Located in the heart of the Geoforest park, Gunung Machinchang is the second-highest mountain in Langkawi. However, despite its smaller size, it remains the best place for getting a view of the entire island. And that incredible view is all thanks to the Langkawi Sky Bridge.
The Langkawi Sky Bridge offers a 360° view of Langkawi and its surrounding islands as far as Ko Tarutao, in Thailand. The view is incredible, but be sure to take some time to admire the bridge itself, too.
Langkawi’s Sky Bridge is the longest curved suspension bridge in the world. It was built in smaller chunks that were flown in by helicopter and assembled on the top of the mountain. The end result is this impressive viewing bridge!
Getting to the Langkawi Sky Bridge
Travelers who want to visit the Langkawi Sky Bridge and its spectacular views have two options for getting there. They can either take the Sky Cable, or they can hike.
The Langkawi Sky Trail runs from the Oriental Village at the base of Gunung Machinchang to the Sky Cab’s Top Station. While the trail is only 2.2km long, it has over 500m of vertical rise. That rise means I can’t recommend it for families with smaller kids, though teens could probably manage it. The hike takes around 4 hours, one way.
Families who would rather skip straight to the top can instead opt for the SkyCab!
Langkawi’s SkyCab Cable car is a monoline gondola ride capable of carrying six people per car. And in keeping with Malaysia’s love of setting world record’s, it is also the world’s longest free span mono-line cable car ride! The ride itself only takes 15 minutes, but offers some great views along the way.
Even if you plan on doing the SkyBridge on your own instead of booking a tour, you still may want to buy your SkyCab tickets in advance. All you have to do to redeem them is walk up to the ticket counter and show them which tickets you bought, and they'll do the rest!
The Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls
The other major attraction in the Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park is also one of the best free activities in Langkawi: The Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls.
The Telaga Tujuh Falls are also known as the “Seven Wells Waterfall” because of 7 natural pools found above the main falls. There are both upper and lower sections to the falls, separated by a captivating 91-meter vertical drop.
What’s the best time for visiting Telaga Tujuh Falls?
While swimming in the pools can be great at most times during the year, the waterfall is most impressive during the rainy season (September-November), when the pools are full and there’s plenty of water flow. During the drier months, (January-March) the area can dry up to the point that the falls aren’t worth visiting.
Telaga Tujuh Lower Falls
The lower falls area is both the easier spot to visit and the place with the best view of the fall’s main drop. There are plenty of shallow, natural swimming pools in the area below the main falls, perfect for families. The surrounding area is green, with dense forest to either side of the river pools. It’s a beautiful backdrop for a day out in nature!
Just be aware. Getting to these pools does still require a bit of climbing. They’re located about 20 minutes away from the parking lot up about 200 steps.
Telaga Tujuh Upper Falls
The Upper Falls area is a bit harder to get to, requiring climbing 638 steps to the top. It takes about an hour, but if you care to brave the stairs, you’ll be rewarded with the beautiful view from the top!
A viewing platform above the river gives visitors a top-down view of the river and water falls, so you can take in the whole picture. And the 7 “wells” for which the falls got their name are also here. You can take a dip in them, if you like, but be careful. The river has sharp rocks and a deceptively strong current that can be particularly dangerous if you choose to swim close to the edge of the falls. (I wouldn’t.)
It’s worth the trip to the top to see everything, but if you’re looking for a place to relax, the lower falls will probably be plenty.
Check out this tour from Viator!
This is a private tour that picks you up from your hotel and shows you all the major sights in Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park. Tour guests spend time at the waterfalls, ride the SkyCab, and walk the Sky Bridge before wrapping up at the Oriental Village at the base of Gunung Machinchang and returning you to your room!
Kilim Karst Geoforest Park
Karst formations are naturally occurring limestone formations caused by constant water erosion over thousands of years. It can include sinkholes, caves, limestone spires, and sea arches, all of which appear in the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park!
Named for the Kilim river that flows through it, this geopark covers the entirety of the eastern portion of Langkawi. The park is noted not only for its beautiful stone formations, but for its sprawling mangrove forests, rare plant species, and iconic sea eagles.
Kilim Karst Geoforest Mangroves
Taking a boat tour through the mangroves is one of the most popular nature activities in Langkawi. It’s so popular, in fact, that it was offered at every tourism stand that I visited!
Of the 14 species of mangrove tree that grow worldwide, 12 of them can be found among Langkawi’s coastal mangroves! Mangroves are a key species in many coastal ecosystems, and the abundance of these trees in the Kilim Karst helps to create an ideal environment for many different kinds of animal. Within the park’s mangroves, you can spot all sorts of animals including monkeys, eagles, mudskippers (a fish that can walk on land), and sea otters!
Gua Kelawar Bat Cave
Located just off the Kilim River, Gua Kelwar is a medium-sized cave that gets its name from the more than 1000 bats that call it home. Those bats come from 3 separate species, all of which subsist on the fruit found growing on the island. They’re harmless, but quite fun to see!
While the bats typically get the most attention, the cave also has all the standard geologic formations: stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. Plus, there’s also a cave wall encrusted with 5000 year old sea shells that point to sea levels being at least 2 meters higher than they are in modern times!
Kilim River Floating Fish Farm
Before this area was chosen to be a UNESCO Global Geopark location, most of the people who lived on the island were small-scale fishermen. They would live off their catches, or sell them for money to buy things they couldn’t grow or make themselves. But as tourism has taken off in Langkawi, fishing has fallen a bit to the wayside, in favor of jobs in the tourism industry.
This floating fish farm combines the two worlds. They keep small-scale fishing in the area alive while also giving tourists a glimpse of the underwater world that originally sustained the island’s population.
The farm is not a commercial aquaculture farm, but they do keep several different tanks of fish, including stingrays, horseshoe crabs, and more. They even have wild archerfish that swim into the farm on their own looking for food. Guests can hold fish food above the water and let them shoot it out of their hands using a focused water jet!
Gua Cerita – The Cave of Legends
Another small cave in the Kilim Karst Geoforest park, Gua Cerita is a sea cave located just off the northern coast of Langkawi. The cave gets its name from several different legends surrounding the it. In some legends, the cave served as the prison of a Chinese princess who was kept there to prevent her from marrying a prince of Rome. It was said that if they married, the two mighty empires would become one, and the entire world might fall under their domain. So, the mighty phoenix, Garuda, kidnapped the princess and hid her away in this cave. Even so, her prince ultimately found and married her.
The interior of the cave also contains cave writings in Arabic script from the mid-1700’s detailing the life of the Sheikh Baharuddin. Unfortunately, there are also more modern writings from overeager tourists who wanted to make their own mark on the cave.
You can book a Mangroves boat tour pretty easily from any of the tourism booths on Langkawi, but if you're short on time or just want to have things set before you show up, consider booking ahead of time using Klook.
Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park
The Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park is the only one of Langkawi’s Geoparks to be located on a different island. Just a 15-minute boat ride away from the main island, Dayang Bunting island is home to significant limestone deposits, caves, and its namesake lake, Dayang Bunting. And, yes, it also has large deposits of marble.
Those geology buffs out there probably recognize that marble as the metamorphic stone that forms when limestone is heated by geologic forces. The marble in the Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest is a white marble formed out of the huge deposits of Karst limestone throughout the region, and is some of the highest quality marble in the world, comparable to the marble found in Italy.
Even so, quarrying of the marble stopped over 20 years ago. Today, the region is instead a popular destination on Langkawi’s island hopping tours.
Dayang Bunting, the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden
One of the most popular locations in the geopark is a large, (mostly) freshwater lake located just off the southern coast of the island. This is Dayang Bunting, or the “lake of the pregnant maiden.”
Similar to the cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Dayang Bunting formed when the limestone ceiling of a cave became too heavy and collapsed inwards. When the cave roof collapsed, the lake was formed, and today it covers an area of over 43km² (just under 17mi²).
Photo credit: Dr. Tanot Unjah, UKM Sarjana
Local legends say that drinking the water can help women with infertility problems. And science doesn’t really disagree. Studies have shown that the high alkalinity of the lake can have health benefits for those who swim there! Which, by the way, you will absolutely want to do. The area is beautiful, with sparkling blue waters and jungle greenery on all sides, so a dip is hard to resist.
You also can rent kayaks and life-jackets at the lake for a small fee.
This private boat tour looks at locations in both the Kilim Karst Geopark and Dayang Bunting, so you can get the very most out of your trip!
This is one of the best-reviewed tours on Langkawi.
Kubang Badak BioGeoTrail
The Kubang Badak BioGeoTrail is the newest addition to Langkawi’s Geoparks. While the other three sections cover broad swaths of land and miles of jungle and geologic formations, the scope of the trail is much more limited.
Located in the north of Langkawi, the Kubang Badak Trail isn’t far from the Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park. However, unlike the Machinchang, the Kubang Badak trail is best seen from the water.
The BioGeoTrail is made up of a large coastal mangrove forest, the mountain Bukit Menora, and two different islands located off the north coast of Langkawi. These are Pulau Jemaruk and Pulau Dangli.
Get up close with Langkawi’s wildlife
Langkawi is home to a wide array of tropical wildlife, from birds like kingfishers and hornbills to mammals like sea otters and macaques. While there is never any guarantee of seeing specific animals on any of these tours, boat tours like the ones offered in the Kubang Badak BioGeoTrail are one of the best options for families wanting to spot unique critters.
In large part, that’s because the guides leading these groups typically have a better idea of what they’re looking for and can often spot animals that would otherwise get overlooked. It’s one of the advantages of guided tours that often convinces me that getting a guide is worth it.
You can also find some of the best snorkeling in Langkawi here, at the island of Pulau Dangli.
18th Century Thai Ruins
If you’re a history buff, you may be interested in the ruins that can be spotted in among the Kubang Badak’s mangroves.
During the 1700’s, Thai immigrants settled in the area, and remnants of their villages and charcoal factories can be seen today. They aren’t the magnificent temple ruins that you can find in some parts of the world, but they are interesting.
In my opinion, there are few activities as relaxing as getting out on the water in a kayak. And with mangroves, ruins, and jungle critters aplenty, the Kubang Badak trail is an excellent location for doing it.
With beautiful beaches and duty free shops, Langkawi is often considered to be a bit of a fun and sun kind of location, with little else to offer beyond relaxing on the beach. And I admit, my family did quite a bit of relaxing on the beach during our stay! But it turns out that while the beaches are great, it’s also an incredible location for families looking for educational adventures!
