Kukup Island National Park

Pulau Kukup National Park is the second largest uninhabited mangrove forests in the world. It is located at the most southern part of Johor, 1 kilo meters offshore the main land. In the interest of preserving its unique habitat, Kukup Island was gazetted a national park at 1997 under the Johor State Park Corporation Enactment 1989. The aim of the national park is to preserve the natural ecosystem of the island, which is a home to abundance of flora and fauna.

The island was declared a “Wetland of International Importance” or RAMSAR Site by Geneva- based Ramsar Convention Bureau in 2003. The island shelters an extraordinary array of wetland-associated plant and animal life. Concealed by the dense foliage, the sound of the residential birds can be heard echoing though the woods. The abundant vegetation is a magnet for many kind of creatures, from the playful mud skipper and the industrious crab, to the wild boar and the monkeys.

The boardwalk of the national park provides a scenic and easy walk through the forest. It is built with five levels of elevated platforms, enabling a bird’s-eye view of the island in its entirety.

This island is shrouded in legends of princesses and curses. A local folklore tells the tale that Pulau Kukup was an abode for five celestial princesses. Their peaceful existence was shattered when one of them fell in love with a sailor eloped. A curse befell the island and it was submerged by the sea. The island later resurfaced, but it was covered in mangroves. Many have tried to live on the island, but none last long. Rumor has it because the island is the gateway to the spirit world.

Image by: Pulau Kukup Johor National Park FB