A half-day island hopping trip can be arranged with the many local tour operators found along Pantai Kok. Price can range from RM 40 to 60 depending on the package and tour operators.

The tour usually consists of three activities:

1) Visiting the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden at Dayang Bunting Island.
2) Visiting Beras Basah Island for a swim.
3) Eagle feeding at some unknown estuary. Visitors are strongly advised to check with the operators whether there is any transport provided to bring you back to Pantai Kok after the trip. We were nearly stranded at some unknown pier after the trip ended, because the tour operator did not send a transport to bring us back.

Tour operators usually use a 10-man speedboat to bring visitors around the isles south of Langkawi Island. Dayang Bunting Island is about a 15-minute boat trip away from Langkawi. A pier was constructed on the island to allow visitors to board and disembark from the speedboats easily. There are a number of monkeys here and visitors are advised to hold on tightly to their belongings as these monkeys can snatch them away from you.

From the pier, a concrete path and a flight of stairs will bring you straight into the forested interior of the island. The path is gentle sloping and at certain points, winds its way between large boulders covered with mosses. Before long, the path leads down and the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden comes into view.

Hidden in the forested interior of Dayang Bunting Island, the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden is the largest freshwater lake in the Langkawi archipelago. The local legend goes that the lake is the favorite bathing pool of a fairy named Mambang Sari, who later got married an earthly prince. Unfortunately, their first child died seven days after birth. Deeply depressed, the fairy buried her child in the crystal clear waters of the lake. Before she departed back to the heavens, she blessed the lake such that any childless woman who drank from it will be able to conceive. Believe it or not, there are stories going around that childless locals really got their wish after drinking from the lake.

A small floating platform was constructed at the edge of the water and offers rental of life jackets and paddle-boats. Visitors can swim in the cool refreshing waters of this freshwater lake or go right to the center of the lake by renting a paddle-boat. The water is surprisingly clear and the lake bottom can be clearly seen. Sometimes a kingfisher can be seen diving into the waters for fish, other times, a sea eagle can be seen gliding by high above. It’s a quiet and nice place, surrounded by forested slopes on all sides, like a small world of its own, far away from the noise and hustle of the cities.

A very nice and peaceful place that one shouldn’t miss!