Port Dickson
The Nearest Coast To Kuala Lumpur, With An Ordinary Beach, A Portuguese Founded Lighthouse On A Headland, And Thousands Of Raptors Crossing Overhead Each Spring · Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
PORT DICKSON IS THE BEACH KUALA LUMPUR GOES TO BECAUSE IT IS THE CLOSEST ONE, AND THE ROW WILL NOT PRETEND THE SAND IS GOOD. The water is silty, the strait is busy with shipping, and the strip is resorts, seafood restaurants and weekend traffic. TWO THINGS RAISE IT ABOVE THAT. THE FIRST IS TANJUNG TUAN - CAPE RACHADO - a forested headland at the southern end with A LIGHTHOUSE WHOSE FOUNDATION GOES BACK TO THE PORTUGUESE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, making it among the oldest lighthouse sites in the region. THE SECOND IS WHAT FLIES OVER IT. EVERY SPRING, THOUSANDS OF MIGRATING RAPTORS CROSS THE STRAIT OF MALACCA HERE - honey buzzards, black bazas, sparrowhawks - funnelling over this headland because it is the shortest hop from Sumatra. IT IS ONE OF THE GREAT RAPTOR BOTTLENECKS IN ASIA and almost nobody on the beach below knows. Come in March or early April with binoculars if the raptors are why you are here, and come midweek in any month, because the strip fills with Kuala Lumpur at weekends.
Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
PORT DICKSON IS ABOUT AN HOUR TO NINETY MINUTES FROM KUALA LUMPUR and half an hour from SEREMBAN. THE BEACH STRIP IS PUBLIC AND FREE with resorts along it; WEEKENDS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ARE VERY BUSY and midweek is quiet. TANJUNG TUAN IS A FOREST RESERVE at the southern end with a walk up to the lighthouse - the reserve keeps daytime hours, THE LIGHTHOUSE ITSELF IS AN ACTIVE INSTALLATION AND IS NOT GENERALLY OPEN INSIDE, and the climb is short but steep. THE RAPTOR MIGRATION PEAKS IN MARCH AND EARLY APRIL, and there is an ANNUAL RAPTOR WATCH EVENT around then; outside that window the headland is simply a pleasant forest walk. THE WATER IS SILTY AND THE STRAIT IS BUSY - this is not a snorkelling coast. Seafood at the fishing villages is the local strength.