Perhentian Islands
Perhentian Islands
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Perhentian Islands

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Perhentian Islands

The Perhentian Islands (Malay: Kepulauan Perhentian; Terengganu Malay: Perhentiang; Kelantan-Pattani Malay: Perhentiey) are a group of islands off the coast of Besut District, Terengganu, Malaysia.

The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Greater Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Lesser Perhentian"). The small, uninhabited islands of Susu Dara (Virgin Milk), Serengeh and Rawa, lie off Kecil. As in the rest of Besut, people generally speak Kelantanese Malay. However, English is also widely spoken.

The name "Perhentian" means "stopping point" in Malay, referring to the islands' traditional role as a waypoint for traders between Bangkok and Malaysia. The islands were sparsely inhabited by fishers for centuries, although tourism now accounts for most of the economic activity.

The Perhentian Islands appear on many maps from the nineteenth and twentieth century as 'The Station Islands'. This arises from the British colonial period, as an English translation of "stopping point".

Pulau Perhentian was one of the islands where Vietnamese refugees or boat people landed during the 1970s.

The islands were gazetted as a marine park in 1994, prohibiting all fishing within two miles from the shore.[citation needed]

Nature tourism provides the economic base for the islands. Both the islands have white coral sand beaches and a clear sea. Popular tourist activities include scuba-diving, snorkeling, and swimming. The islands are home to numerous different species of monitor lizards, venomous spiders, and geckos. In the water and on the coral reefs, sea turtles, clownfish, cuttlefish, blue spotted rays, and black tipped sharks swim freely among many others.

The Perhentian islands have a tropical climate with temperatures steadily around 30 °C (86 degrees F) and frequent, brief thunderstorms. During peak season, the waters are calm, making conditions favourable for diving. There are dozens of dive sites around both main islands, as well as several off-shore sites.

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