Picnics and BBQ

Get hold of your family and friends, grab some food and drinks, mengkuang mats (to sit on!) and perhaps a football to play on the beach, head on to any spot on our long scenic beaches or the waterfalls at Sekayu.

Terengganu is all about being outdoors where the beauty of mother nature is all there to be appreciated. Feel the wind, smell the fresh air or the musky odor of the rainforest, there’s nothing better to whet your appetite than being on the beach or next to a cooling cascade of water and having the best nasidagang or kerepoklekor and eating to your hearts content. When you’re on holiday in Terengganu, dieting should be declared illegal. Most importantly, please do not litter and pick everything you brought.

Where:

Batu Burok beach, Teluk Bidara beach, Pantai Kelulut, Kemasik beach, Paka beach, Pantai Air Tawar, and many more spots on the beach that you’d have to find and explore!

TTI River Boat Cruise

Take a slow cruise from the jetty at Taman Tamadun Islam and let the boat take you across and along the Terengganu river past some kampongs and dockyards. You will see a kaleidoscope of people and scenes of village life, from children bathing and jumping into the waters, to Malay village homes, just unspoiled rural scenes.

Paragliding

The first of its kind in Terengganu, you can now go paragliding in Bukit Keluang, in Besut. Taking off from Bukit Bubus, Kg Tembila, Besut. Operated by Tandem Paragliding Flights and managed by Ustaz Aznawi, contact +60128151596. You can paraglide over one of the most beautiful sceneries in the country, over hills and sandy white beaches, with a view that will take your breath away. From a few hundred metres up, you can see how far our beaches stretch, up to the horizon. After all, Terengganu has the longest stretch of beach in Malaysia. 

Kayaking 

A 15km route on the Sungai Berang takes you from Kampung Pengkalan Ajal to Kampung Buluh. Operated by a group of kayak enthusiasts, Secretariat OKB. Take an adventure and navigate the rivver surrounded by lush rainforests where certain parts are shaded by overhanging mature trees giving the impression of going through a tunnel of greens. The route can at times be challenging, but that’s part of the fun. As you will pass five kampungs on the banks of the river, you will also be able to appreciate the rustic kampung scenes and the friendly folks along the way.

Boating

The Duyong Marina Resort has a marina to for you to dock your boats or yachts. Built for the Monsoon Cup, which Terengganu had hosted before, you will find the facilities for your yachts and boats on par with international standards.

Cruise on the Terengganu River upstream or speed off to the nearest offshore island, PulauKapas, about 45 minutes away. You can also explore the coastline, taking a detour to the Setiu Wetlands north of Kuala Terengganu or to Kuala Ibai where the famous floating mosque can be seen in the distance. And further south, you will find the mouth of the Marang River, which is one of the most beautiful scenic spots in Terengganu.

Fishing

If you’re an avid angler, Tasik Kenyir would be a great place to go fishing, amidst the serenity and wild jungles of the interior of Terengganu. There is an angling festival that attracts scores of anglers every year. Rent a houseboat or a boat and make your way to the middle of this vast lake, the largest in Malaysia.

Apart from Tasik Kenyir, you’d find plenty of places to fish, from the banks of the many rivers and tributaries, to hitching a ride with the local fishermen to traverse the South China Sea for some real action on the seas. And if you’re on a trip to the islands, get a boat and anchor at one of the offshore fishing spots.

Squid Jigging

Participate in the Terengganu Squid Jigging festival, held in June every year. Quite a spectacular sight to see scores of boats head out to sea with lights on to attract the squids to surface. It’s like a floating city at sea.

Photography

If ever there is place to catch the best of Malaysian exotica, this is it. Enjoy Terengganu’s many photogenic natural and man-made attractions, from the old heritage sites of Kuala Terengganu to the simple and rustic Malay fishing villages by the sea, to the undersea world of corals and reefs to the wilds of TasikKenyir, Terengganu is a photographer’s paradise. Take a close look at the people and their way of life or focus on the intricacies of our wood carving skills on the panels of old houses, Terengganu is not short of visual subjects. Even if you don’t have an expensive SLR camera, your camera phone can already shoot awesome pictures. So be prepared wherever you go to capture the best of sights and candid moments that make your trip to Terengganu memorable.

Water Sports

Bring your jetskis, surf boards, windsurf gear and anything that helps you float and move on water to give that exhilarating adrenalin rush or that gives you slow and simple pleasures, Terengganu has plenty of water bodies for you to partake in any water sport. Go speed boating from Kuala Terengganu to the offshore islands, windsurf on the lagoon in Setiu Wetlands, jetski upstream on the Terengganu River, or take a slow kayak ride on Tasik Kenyir, come to Terengganu for a great sporting holiday.

Snorkelling

Redang Marine Park and off the beaches of all the resorts and hotels on Perhentian, Redang, Lang Tengah, and Tenggol Islands.

Diving

Best diving spots are Redang, Perhentian and Tenggol Islands. Tenggol has deep sea diving sites. Tenggol is famous for catching the passing of the white shark, which plays in the waters off the island in certain months of the year.

Redang is protected by the Marine Conservation Park.

What to Do

If you love the outdoors, culture, adventure or just peace and quiet, Terengganu is the place to be. Our wonderful natural attractions from islands and beaches to rustic kampungs and Lake Kenyir open up many possibilities of activities that one can pursue for a memorable holiday.

Depending on your interest, the following are the typical activities that you can pursue when you visit Terengganu.

Self Drive Tour

Take our scenic coastal roads from Cukai in the South to Besut in the north and you will find many interesting scenes of our coastline, from rustic kampungs to wetlands, inland lagoons and breathtaking beaches. Stop anywhere you desire and ensure you bring food and water and enjoy a picnic in any one of the many beautiful spots along the coast.

Where:

Take State Route T3 for the coast line tour. Stops: Kemasik Beach, Marang, TelukBidara, PantaiKelulut, TanjungJara, PantaiBatuRakit, Turtle Sanctuaries in RantauAbang, Pantai Ma’ Daerah.

To get to Tasik Kenyir, take the road heading towards Kuala Berang and signs will lead you to Tasik Kenyir. Fromt the East Coast Highway or LPT2, head towards Ajil and follow signs to Kuala Berang and Tasik Kenyir.

Wayang Kulit

A fascinating theatre of shadows and light where intricately carved puppets made of cow skin are used to act out stories of good and evil based on ancient myths and legends. The wayang kulit is performed in a specially constructed structure with a white cloth screen facing the audience. A dalang or story teller sits behind the screen with an assortment of puppets of various characters. An ensemble of musicians accompanies the dalang and in the olden days, performances can last a few nights. The language used can be quite incomprehensible to the layman and those who are unfamiliar with the local Malay dialect, but the dancing of the shadows on the screen and the beautiful music are intriguing and at times amusing. The wayang kulit is a heritage protected under the UNESCO Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Silat

Silat is a Malay martial art form and is now becoming popular throughout the world. A demonstration of silat is usually done as a performance accompanied by music consisting of drums, a gong and a traditional Malay flute. Two opponents display their skills, sometimes using the traditional Malay weapon, the keris, in a series of dance-like graceful and precise movements that tempt the other to respond with a first attack or defense. There are many forms of silat movements, depending on their origins throughout the Malay Archipelago. A silat performance is usually held during festive occasions such as a wedding or an official welcoming ceremony.

Kite Flying

Kite flying is another popular sport in both Terengganu and Kelantan. These kites can stretch a metre in diameter and can be as tall as the player that flies it. It comes in various shapes and named as Wau Bulan, Wau Kucing, and Wau Merak to name a few. Made from thin rice paper within a light cut bamboo frame, they are beautifully decorated with delicate motifs and are treasured as a piece of art by itself. Once airborne, they make humming sounds and each kite is pitted to cross the path of another to bring it down. The string of a kite is thinly covered with a kind of glass powder that can cut the string of another. Whichever kite that flies last wins.

Main Gasing

Giant top spinning is a game popular in the northern part of the State, especially in the district of Besut. These tops, flat and round and shaped like a discus, are made of wood and weigh about 5kg. They are played by adults and are taken seriously as a game that requires strength, agility and precision. Players are pitted against each other to see who can make a top spin the longest. It has been shown that the tops can spin for two hours and sometimes more. Each player tightly winds the circumference of his top with a long piece of rope and then in a quick jerking motion throws the top to the ground spinning it at great speed. The tops are then scooped up using a special tool and placed in a row on a wooden display rack. The spinning of each top is then timed to see which spins the longest.

Boat Building

Terengganu is well known for its artisanal skills in boat making for centuries. Using no blue prints and no nails, the boat makers of Pulau Duyong are world famous for crafting boats by hand. And we are not just talking about fishing vessels used by our fishermen; bespoke ocean faring wooden boats have been built here. Private individuals from the USA and New Zealand have known to have purchased their boats from our boat makers. Indeed, the skills and craftsmanship of Terengganu boat builders have attracted the attention of many yacht and boat enthusiasts from all over the world.

The skills of these boat builders are highly prized due to their meticulous attention to detail where their crafting is only guided by pure memory and past experience. As mentioned, the original boat builders of the past do not rely on blue prints but their numbers are unfortunately dwindling.

Using only the best woods, in this case, cengal wood, whose availability or lack of it have been known to have delayed orders. Craftsmanship and integrity are what have shaped the vocation of these boat builders and they will not settle anything less than the best.

The number of boat builders from Pulau Duyong has dwindled to just a few. However, the government has taken steps through its agencies to train the younger generation in the craft and hopefully to keep this heritage industry alive. It would be a sad state of event if this industry is not revived soon. And it is hoped that with visitors descending on Pulau Duyong to learn about the glorious past of the boat building industry, this would encourage and boost the young to take on the vocation and continue on and preserve this industry which has been the pride of our history for centuries.

Keris Making

The keris is a traditional Malay dagger and is regarded as a cultural symbol of the Malays. The keris is meant to not only physically protect the wearer and owner but is believed to hold mystical powers that further shields its owner from further harm. Legend has it that the owner would know danger lurking if the keris starts to rattle in its sheath!

The shape of the keris is quite unique and not found in any other weapon or dagger in the world. It has curves or waves that give the keris its unique identity. The keris is also a revered object and is part of the royal regalia.

The keris’ beauty is made complete by the intricately carved wooden handle or hilt that sometimes depicts the shape of a kingfisher or other objects inspired by nature.

The best keris makers are found in Kampung Pasir Panjang and Kampung Ladang Titian in Kuala Terengganu.