From a sleepy fishing village, Pulau Redang (Redang Island) has grown into one of the most popular tourist destinations on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The reefs of the Redang archipelago are home to over 55 genera of corals and 100 species of fish. Every year, Pulau Redang attracts thousands of visitors who come to enjoy the sun, beaches and spectacular marine life.

Marine Park Pulau Redang
With its pearly white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, colourful assortments of marine life, amazing starry nights and beautiful breathtaking sunrise, Pulau Redang offers the ultimate hideaway for those seeking solitude and relaxation. Beneath its crystal clear waters, prolific coral formations and an innumerable array of marine life; it is no wonder that Redang has earned the reputation as one of the best marine parks in the world.

The 200 families that reside within the fishing village all live on the main island of Pulau Redang, along the inlet of Sungai Redang. Agriculture in the form of fruit trees line the hill slopes further inland, where past coconut and pepper plantations can also be seen till today. The villagers here are predominantly fishermen, but about a handful of the villagers here supplement their income by collecting birds’ nests from the cave swiftlet colonies located in the caves along the north-eastern coast on the main island.
Dive sites & interesting facts

The Pulau Redang Archipelago consists of the 9 main islands of Pulau Redang, Pulau Pinang, Pulau Ling, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil and Pulau Lima; all of which are situated 45km off the Terengganu coast.

Redang Island offers the marine sports enthusiast first class opportunities for scuba Diving, snorkelling, wind surfing, fishing or to just laze the day away and soak in the sun by the sea.  The average Diving depth here is about 22 metres while the maximum Diving depth is about 31 metres. During the months of February to May, one can expect to see manta rays, and whale sharks off the Pulau Lima waters. The preferred time to dive however is from April to October where you can expect to spot marble rays, jacks, fusilier, snappers, turtles, batfish and nudibranchs.

At the park
The Marine Park Pulau Redang offers a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for visitors to enjoy such as, snorkeling, Diving, picnicking, camping, boating, swimming, jungle-tracking and exploration, climbing, bird-watching as well as wildlife observation.

Pulau Redang has several stretches of excellent camping grounds with delightful beaches for picnicking and shallow waters for swimming. Visitors can pick to camp along the larger bay areas such as T. Dalam, Pasir T. Kalong and Pasir Panjang. For those who prefer smaller and somewhat desolate locations can opt to head on to the west and north coast where Pasir Mak Simpan, Pasir Mak Kepit dan Pasir Chagar Hutang is located.

Sightseeing by boat tours can be arranged to tour around the island, where visitors are able to appreciate the wildlife and rock formations, interspersed with rain forests that covers a major part of the island. Avid photographers can take this chance to capture great moments as well. For those who prefer to see what’s below without getting get can do so on glass bottom boats as well, where one can appreciate  spectacular coral formations amidst the shallow reefs. For nature buffs, the island also provides good terrain for hiking and climbing as well.
Basic amenities such as toilets and wash facilities, picnic tables and barbeque pits are provided at selected sites of the park. Visitors can shop for basic food and drinks at the village shops. To hire Diving equipments or boats, visitors can consult dive operators at their respective resorts.

Facilities at Marine Park Pulau Redang
Toilet and wash facilities, picnic tables and barbeque pits are provided at selected sites. A jetty at the visitors centre allows boats to come along shore. The park management provides mooring buoys over coral reefs to allow for snorkelling and Diving boats.

Marine Park Terengganu
The Marine Park Terengganu is located within the east-coast state of Terengganu, where one must make their way to the jetties located at Kuala Besut, Merang or Kuala Dungun; depending on the islands you wish to go to. The Marine Park Terengganu consists of the Redang Archipelago and Perhentian Archipelago plus its surrounding islands. The jurisdiction of the Marine Park Terengganu includes the islands within the 2 nautical miles from the shores of the islands of Pulau Susu Dara, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Serenggeh, Pulau Teku Burung, Pulau Tokong Kemudi, Pulau Tokong Kemudi Barat, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Redang, Pulau Ling, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Cupak, Pulau Pinang, Pulau Yu Besar, Pulau Yu Kecil, Pulau Nyireh, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Gemia and Pulau Tenggol.

Dive Site

Chagar Hutang
Chagar Hutang lies at the northern most tip of the island .Large boulders bear soft corals such as gorgonian fans consequently making this site teeming with rich fish life. The site consists of a wall that goes down to 25metres,at the bottom, huge boulders are found on the sand. In deep water you can see some large soft tree corals, sea anemone and nudibranch too. If the current is right, you can drift half of the area but make sure to keep close to the wall or boulders when approaching the turns to avoid drifting along with the current. There are shoals of fusiliers, large groupers, wrasse, squirrelfish and angelfish found at Chagar Hutang as well. There are also some fire corals as well as lots of stinging hydroids and countless featherstars for you to appreciate here.

Ferry Wreck
A fairly good site for novices, where the wreck rests perfectly on the sand bottom. There is less coral life but various species of groupers are aplenty. You can also swim towards the shallow area about 10 metres where coral life is abundant on the boulders. You’ll find whip coral, table, and Christmas tree worms carpet the rocks and boulders here. Shoal of fusilier, batfish, and Blue spotted rays can be found at Ferry Wreck as well.

Tanjung Gua Kawah ( Corner )
This site is abundant with fish life where one can expect to see pelagic swimming in and out of this area. Strong deep-water currents keep coral growth down but act as a home for the big fishes. A jumble of rocks descends straight to sand bottom. A fairly good site for experienced divers but less experienced divers should check the condition first before entering the water.

Pulau Paku Besar ( South Side)
At Pulau Paku Besar there are cliffs that slopes down straight to a level bottom where there are lots of whip, staghorn, table, mushroom and lettuce corals. You can also find giant clams and others species of shellfish and tunicates too. In the deeper end however there are small gorgonian sea fans, large soft tree corals and several species of nudibranchs for you to examine. While in the open water you’ll have a chance to see species of jellyfish and shoal of jacks, fusiliers, and snappers scavenging for food.

Pulau Paku Kecil
A site rich with table, staghorn, lettuce, and gorgonian sea fans. Although there is little fish life here but most of the local angelfish, butterflyfish, lionfish, wrasse and Blue spotted ray are present here. A usually calm site but sometimes waters can be choppy coupled with strong currents.

Pulau Ekor Tebu( Northeast Corner)
This particular site is located at the deepest part of the water off Pulau Ekor Tebu. There are boulders dropping steeply to 10metres where you can find a lot of healthy staghorn corals, large giant clams and several species of seashells. Drift dives are possible here depending on the current conditions. The fish life here is generally similar to The Big Mount site but one is able to see an underwater cave at a 20metre depth.

The Big Mount
A site rich in marine life with a jumble of boulders covered by hard corals, leathery soft corals, mushroom corals, sponges, seafans, and sea anemones with their attendant resident clownfish. The seaward slopes which continues down to a depth of more than 40metres offers a variety of whip corals and in deeper water there are Tubatrea Micranthus branches like cup corals, large Dendronephtyla soft tree corals and nudibranchs for you to explore.    Divers can expect to see various species as well as marble rays if lady luck is on your side. In the open waters, shoal of fusiliers, jacks, and tuna usually swim past this area quite often. Fan worms are found on the sand with Christmas worm trees carpeting the boulder corals.

Mak Chantek
Mak Chantek is a submerged reef 60metres in length by 15metres with an attached buoy line at the surface. A site rich in coral and fish life, where the shallow part starts from 6metres and surrounded by sand bottom. This site is a relatively good resting ground for stingrays, Guitar shark, and Leopard sharks too. Try to observe the sandy bottom and you may find some interesting macro life like nudibranchs, porcelain crabs and shrimps. A lot of resident coral grouper and moray eels, shoal of Yellow tail and Fusiliers are commonly found here as well. A fairly good site for novices and experienced divers where one can find lots of intriguing marine life to explore and examine.

Mini Mount
There are a group of boulders down to the sand bottom at 20metres.At the deeper end boulders are covered with colourful of soft corals, soft tree corals, dark green Tubastrea micranthus cup corals, tunicates and encrusting corals and sponges. An abundance of marine life with a variety of groupers, pufferfish, clown fish, and fusiliers exist at this popular dive and snorkelling site. The channel between P Kerengga kecil and kerengga besar is a fairly good snorkelling ground.

Pulau Ling
Pulau Ling is not very rich with fish life but coral life is in abundance here. Located east of Pulau Pinang, the boulder corals here are the largest known coral structures off East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The islet consists of two enormous boulders about 40metres in circumference and 10metres in height. Also an interesting find here are the beautiful staghorn, table, lettuce corals, mushroom corals, sponges, tunicates, sea anemone and gorgonian sea fans.
      
Batu Chipor
A beautiful small wall blanketed by colourful Dendronephtyla soft tree corals, gorgonian sea fans exists here at Batu Chipor. The site heads straight down to a sandy bottom where there are a lots of staghorn, table, mushroom, and lettuce corals as well as boulders covered with Christmas tree worms. At the sand bottom you may find moray eels, nudibranchs as well as species of sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumber and cushion stars.

Terumbu Kili
Located at southern most of Pulau Pinang one can expect to see marine life swim out in the open water. There are feather stars on almost all the whip corals and gorgonian sea fans. Sand barrel sponges are common and jumble of boulders are carpeted with leathery and Dendronephtyla soft corals. Follow the currents’ flow in a multi-level spiral pattern. It’s possible to make one round to complete the entire area but do expect strong currents depending on the tide and season.