A Visit to The Datai, Langkawi, Malaysia

Meet Irshad Mobarak, The Datai’s resident naturalist, down at the beachfront for an After Dark Nature Walk. “Langkawi’s definitely underestimated for wildlife,” Irshad tells us.

“For a small place, there’s such incredible biodiversity.”

As we walk the grounds, he points out colugos and giant geckos, with bats flying over the river. With a UV torch, we study small scorpions in the cracks of a wall. But the highlight is watching a flying squirrel take flight, like a little wingsuit pilot, leaping off a tall tree trunk and swooping down.

We meet Irshad again next morning for a walk around the front of the hotel, the trees busy with hornbills and spectacled langurs. Moving around the main building, we see Asian fairy blue birds, a crimson sun bird and up high in a tree, a good vantage point, a female white-bellied sea eagle, perched close to the resident pair’s nest.

Luxury Travel Magazine: A Visit to The Datai
Posted By: Graeme Green
April 18, 2019