LOCATION:
The base station for the cable car is located inside the Oriental Village compound. If you are driving in Pulau Langkawi, the cable car station is located near Teluk Burau (or Burau Bay). There are ample signs that will guide you from Langkawi International Airport or Kuah town to Teluk Burau, from which you will need to look out for the sign into the Oriental Village.
The daily operating hours for the cable car are from 1000 hrs until 1900 hrs, subjected to weather conditions. The service may be halted during strong winds. Tickets cost RM15 for adult with myKad and RM5 for children.
DESCRIPTION:
One of the latest additions to Langkawi's multitude of travel attractions, the cable car system covers a distance of 2.2 kilometres from the base station in the Oriental Village to two mountain-top stations - Middle Station and Top Station - on Gunung Mat Chinchang. On the top, stunning views of Pulau Langkawi as well as the Mat Chinchang mountain range can be enjoyed.
While not being the longest cable car system in Malaysia, Langkawi Cable Car holds a distinction of having a lengthy stretch of one-kilometre that is being supported by only two pylons. The best way to appreciate such engineering feat is by taking the cable car ride itself. A few hundred metres from the base station, the cable car movement is deemed to be ordinary with equally spaced pylons supporting the cables in an almost insignificant degree of incline. As you catch a closer glimpse of the Matahari Face near-vertical rock cliff, and you really have to twist your neck up for that, you will notice that the peaceful journey is about to take an exhilarating turn.
The average incline on this one-kilometre two-pylon-support stretch is about 42-degree and may go close to 60-degree incline when approaching the Middle Station on Matahari Face. The reason for having minimal pylon support is much of a showcase of thrilling engineering accomplishment by the Austrian construction team as well as to preserve the million years old rainforest of the mountain range down below.
As mentioned earlier, there are two stations on the top. If you choose to get to the Top Station, you may just stay put inside your glass-enclosed cabin when the cable car stops at the Middle Station. The second part of the journey is probably less thrilling as far as steep incline is concerned. Some people choose to disembark at the Middle Station, enjoying the view for a while, before heading back for the cable car ride up to the Top Station. Or one can do vice versa. The choice is yours.
The two mountain stations essentially offer almost similar views of Gunung Mat Chinchang and the land down below, although I do find the Top Station to offer better views than the Middle Station. Inclusive of the ticket price is the entry into the spanking-new Curved Suspension Bridge which cuts across two adjoining hill peaks over a deep valley down below.
MY VERDICT:
A very unique attraction in Pulau Langkawi. Great engineering achievement in the construction of this cable car system. Highly recommended.
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