Pangkor Island is in Perak, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, about 100km west of Ipoh and halfway between Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Pangkor Island is a relatively small island with total surface area of about 8km2. In 2005 its total population was approximately 25,000.
History
Pangkor was previously a favourite refuge of fishermen, sailors, merchants and pirates, and was an important site from which to control trading in the Strait of Melaka.
A Dutch fort was built in the 17th century to monopolise tin trade in Perak and to protect the Perak Chieftan against Acehnese and Siamese incursions, but the Dutch were soon driven out by the local ruler when the promised protection did not materialise.
In 1874 a contender to the Perak throne sought British backing and signed the Pangkor Treaty, as a result of which James WW Birch was installed in Perak and thus began the British Colonial era on the peninsula.
Pangkor's economy was once reliant on fishing, and fishing and dried fish products are still a major industry for the island. The famous satay fish originated here.
Tourism
Although Pangkor is less well-known than Penang, Langkawi, and Tioman, the Perak state government is making efforts to promote it as one of Malaysia's main tourist destinations. It is a popular local resort and can get very crowed at weekends and on public holidays, however the beaches are almost empty during the week. It has some of the west coast's prettiest and most tranquil beaches, authentic Malaysian fishing villages that have changed little in 50 years, and some great local food (especially the seafood).
Beaches
The beaches have clear water and almost white sand. Though the water seems to be clean, the beach is littered with plastic debris and driftwood. The island has some waste management problems, as can be seen in the southern part at the huge waste dump and at the small villages where sewage is discharged into the sea. Some travellers have reported sea lice.
Coral Bay - the best west coast beach, just north of Teluk Nipah, with clear emerald-green water due to the presence of limestone. Usually clean and pretty, but there are not to many people swimming there.
Pasir Bogak was the first-developed beach and thus the most famous. It is fine for swimming, but gets very crowded during holidays. The beach here has white sand but is rather narrow. It is the largest and most popular beach on the island. The beach is crescent shaped and numerous shady trees provide idyllic picnic spots under the canopy of their lush foliage. The water is shallow and crystal clear, offering endless hours of fun and frolic in the sunlit sea. There are some facilities for boating, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving (Pulau Sembilan), kayaking, rafting.
Teluk Nipah - a wider beach.
Teluk Belanga - a wide beach spanning this whole bay. Privatly owned by the Pangkor Island Beach Resort (see below).
Activities
Jungle trekking - at the hill side called Titi Gantung and Teluk Segadas Hill.
Motorbike tour - rent a motorbike (from 25 ringgit) and go around the island. The road is good, but on the north side of the island it is quite steep. You can visit the Dutch-Fort, south of Pangkor town, but there is not much of the fort left. Another very nice place is the temple north of Pangkor Town.
Bicycle tour - rent a bicycle (from 8 ringgit a day) and cycle around the island. It takes about 5.5 hours at a leisurely pace.
Taxi tour - pink taxi (from 40 ringgit per taxi per round) if it started form Teluk Nipah. it will show you airport, stop at seafood junk factory, Big Chinese Temple where you can find very big fish in the pool and mini china great wall and Kota Belanda (Dutch Fort).
