Things to do
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Eagle Square
Arriving ferries dock beside a giant eagle with wings raised, the island's emblem and the source of its name, from the reddish brown eagle of the local scrub. Landscaped terraces, ponds and a covered walkway surround it. A quarter of an hour is plenty, and sunset over the harbour is the one time it earns a detour.
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Kilim Karst Geoforest Park
Limestone towers, mangrove channels and sea caves make up a UNESCO geopark on the northeast coast, worked by small boats out of Kilim jetty. Trips take in a bat cave, a fish farm and brahminy kites wheeling above the water. Feeding the eagles is now discouraged, so an operator that still does it is one to avoid.
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Langkawi Cable Car
Three stages of gondola climb from the Oriental Village to a ridge at 708 metres, crossing waterfalls and old rainforest on one of the steepest spans anywhere. Glass floor cabins are ticketed separately. Afternoon cloud often swallows the top station and thunderstorms shut the ride entirely, so timed tickets are worth taking early in the day.
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Langkawi Sky Bridge
A curved pedestrian deck hangs from a single pylon above the rainforest on Mount Mat Cincang, giving views to Tarutao and the Thai islands on a clear day. Access is by cable car, then a short lift or a stepped path. Wind or lightning closes it at short notice, and the earliest cable car slots avoid both haze and queues.
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Pantai Cenang
Langkawi's busiest beach runs for two kilometres on the west coast, backed by a strip of bars, dive shops, jet ski hire and the duty free stores that give the island its trade. Sunsets face straight out over the Andaman Sea. Swimming is calm from November to March, and jellyfish and rougher water arrive with the monsoon.
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Tanjung Rhu
White sand and shallow water at the island's northern tip face a row of limestone islets, with mangrove river mouths at either end and no strip of bars behind. Two resorts hold much of the frontage, though the public beach is generous. At low tide a sandbar opens a walk towards the nearest island, and the current fills it fast.