Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island

Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island boasts of a wide spectrum of geological heritage diversity, such as various types of rock, beautiful caves, coastal and island karst morphologies, fossils, as well as rich mangrove fauna and flora.

Please see below on each section to learn more about these amazing geosites and trails waiting to be explored.

Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island Summary

Attraction: Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island
Location: Kedah Malaysia
Attraction Type: Attraction in Malaysia

Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island

Kelawar Cave

Kelawar Cave is located in the heart of Kilim mangrove swamps within the Kisap Forest Reserve. The cave is about 60 m long and was named as such because it supports hundreds of bats. It consists of two caves. The western cave has a floor area of about 270 m sq with a low roof (1-3m) trending northeast. The second cave is bigger, having a floor area of about 750m sq, with roof reaching 10m high and trending north-northwest.

Interesting features and structures in these caves include stalactites, stalagmites, and fallen rock blocks. The most interesting and important features is the occurrence of old shells encrusting on the cave wall and roof. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the shells are about 5000 years old. The altitude of the shells clusters shows that the sea-level at that time was 2 m higher than the present level.

Anak Tikus @ Baby Rats Island

Anak Tikus @ Baby Rats Island at Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island is a remnant island located at the southernmost tip of Langgun Island. It is very rich in fossils. This remnant island is made of dark coloured, moderate to thickly layered limestone representing the Early Ordovician Lower Limestone Member of the Setul Formation. This limestone is very rich in fossils, particularly gastropod and cephalopod.

Among most common gastropods are Malayaspira rugosa, Teichispira kobayashii, Helicotoma jonesi, Palaeomphalus giganteus, Lesuerilla zonata and Hormotoma sp. This island was formed as a result of prolonged erosion and solution along weaker zone on the neck of an ancient headland.

Langgun Lake Langkawi

Langgun Lake occurs within the Lower Limestone Member of the Setul Formation. It is the second largest freshwater lake in Langkawi. It was part of bowl-shaped depression called sinkhole or doline, formed when water dissolved the limestone walls. This large lake is positioned along one of the major fault lines that cut across Langgun Island.

Sinkholes are common when there are limestones, carbonate rocks, or salt beds below the land surface, which are naturally dissolved by ground water passing through them. Once the size of the cavern formed by the dissolved rocks becomes too big, and without support for the land above, there would be a sudden collapse creating a sinkhole.

In time this will be filled with rainwater creating a typical lake such as Langgun Lake. A long and deliberate walk to this lake would probably take 45 minutes, however, it is not just the destination, but the journey matters too because of the rich variety of flora and fauna that await to be discovered here.

What are geo sites and trails to be explored when you are at Kilim Geo Forest Park?

There are many attractions at Kilim Geo Forest Park to explore. Visiting Kelawar Cave, Anak Tikus Island, Langgun Lake, Mempelam Bay, Geo Sites Langsir Cave, Gua Cherita, Dedap Cave and Gua Buaya are best in natures. Besides that, you can visit to Tanjung Rhu located at the mouth of Sungai Ayer Hangat.

Explore Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island

Mempelam Bay

Mempelam (Mango) Bay is the location of Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island where the type of section of the Setul Formation was erected. It comprises of the Ordovician Lower Limestone Member, Early Silurian Lower Detrital Member, Late Silurian Upper Limestone Member and Early to Middle Devonian Upper Detrital Member. The changes from the Lower Limestone Member to the overlying Lower Detrital Member reflected continuous rising of the ancient sea level that allowed the deposition of fine-grained siliceous and cherty rocks overlying the shallower marine limestone and limestone. The Upper Limestone Member was deposited during the subsequent drop of the sea-level.

Gastropod, cephalopod and conodonts are the dominant fossil in the Lower Limestone Member. Trilobite and graptolite dominate the Lower Detrital Member while trilobite, cephalopod, crinoid and trace fossils are the most common fossils in the Upper Limestone Member. The Upper Detrital Member generally lacks in fossils. The prolonged erosion has resulted in the formation of broad erosion platforms at various ancient sea levels with several beautiful sea-stacks. The deformation on sandstone of the Upper Detrital Member has formed several open anticlines and synclines with some tighter crenulation folds.

Langsir Cave Kilim Geoforest Park

Langsir Cave is located on the southwest of Peluru Strait, facing the Langgun Island. The cave exhibits various cave features, developed within the Lower Limestone of the Setul Formation. The limestone is very rich in fossils and one can easily find fossils at this site. The lake is a doline filled by saline water and surrounded by vertical limestone cliff. Ancient encrusting oysters and barnacles are abundant on the cave roof at Langsir Cave, some 2 to 3 meters above the present sea level.

Cherita Caves Kilim Geo Forest Park

This two-chamber cave was developed within the limestone of Ordovician – Silurian (480-440 million years ago) Setul Formation. The lower chamber is a raised ancient sea cave. From the upper chamber one can get a stunning view of the calm turquoise water of the bay. Within the chamber are some strange formations of stalagmites and rock falls. The curved walls and ceiling are pockmarked made by swallows and bats, which once occupied the cave.

Cherita Cave Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island is conserved by the Museum and Antiquity Department for the archeological artifacts and cave paintings. There are ancient markings on the outside walls of the cave, though faded through time and weather, are still eligible but yet to be fully deciphered.

Dedap Caves Kilim Geo Forest Park

Dedap (name of a tree) Cave is a tunnel connecting a bay with calm turquoise waters to a doline intermittently filled with marine or brackish water. The cave developed within the Setul Formation. During a high tide, the cave is accessible by small boat. The cave is a short tunnel with a shallow stream running through.

The doline is surrounded by limestone cliff and functioned as a mangrove fringe and wetland forest. Based on aerial photographs and topography map, a major lineament can be traced running through the cave, and very likely that the cave has been formed by the action of sea waves beating through the lineament over thousands of years. Through the cave, one gets a stunning view of the bay and the islands across.

Crocodile Caves at Kilim Geo Forest Park Geo Sites

Situated off the Kilim River, Crocodile Cave is unique because it is actually a natural tunnel developed in the limestone by an underground stream that once flowed in this area during the low sea-level. Now the tunnel turns into a beautiful cave. The river flows right through the arched cave and at low tide, a small boat can navigate from one side through to the other.

Inside the cave there is an ascending chamber flanked by walls of limestone with minimal stalactites and stalagmites. Small colonies of bats roost on the ceiling of this cave. One can also observe ancient shells sticking on the wall and roof of this cave. When looked at certain angles, this cave resembles a look of a crocodile, hence the name of the cave came about. There are no crocodiles to be sighted at this cave.

Kilim Geo Forest Park Tanjung Rhu

Kilim Geo Forest Park Tanjung Rhu (Cape Rhu) is a large sand spit at the mouth of Sungai Ayer Hangat. This sand spit provides a natural barrier for the protection of the lagoon behind it. Apart from offering its excellent sandy beach, Tanjung Rhu provides several viewpoints of various natural landscapes from karstic hills and beautiful karstic islands to a variety of lagoonal features.

Tanjung Rhu Kilim Geo Forest Park UNESCO Langkawi Island is located about 20 km from Kuah town, Tanjung Rhu is renowned for its long, white sandy beaches, and the iconic Ayam Island just offshore. As the name Tanjung Rhu implies, the beaches are lined with Casuarina trees or ‘Pokok Rhu’ in the Malay language.