Description of the attraction
Penang National Park is a unique nature reserve located in the northwest of the island. This forest reserve was renamed in 2003, giving the status of a National Park. The goal is to protect and preserve the peculiar flora and fauna of the island. It is the smallest of all national parks in the world. The total area of land and sea, forming its territory, is 1213 hectares. However, the park has several distinctive ecosystems not found in other reserves in the country. On the territory there is a section of a natural jungle massif that once covered the island in abundance. Some examples of the natural environment are unique, which increases its importance as a national park.
The natural landscape is unusually diverse: hills, swamps, coral reefs, mangroves, coastal forest, muddy coastal areas, rocky and eight sandy beaches. The latter serve as a place for laying eggs by sea turtles. These are three main types - olive, green and bissa turtle. In addition to them, insectivorous plants live in the park, or, more precisely, grow.
On the territory, 417 species of flora peacefully coexist, turn green and bloom. 143 species of fauna live, move, feed and reproduce in them. The park is the only place where you can see leopard, mouse deer, long-tailed macaques, porcupine, etc. And, of course, a wide variety of insects live in the park - scorpions, spiders, millipedes, etc.
The unique ecological systems of the park include the meromictic lake. Its peculiarity is the separation of water into two different layers. The upper cool layer is fresh, it is fed by streams from the surrounding areas, the lower, salty layer is seasonally connected to the sea and is constantly warm. They have a clear line of separation.
Dirt paths in the park are in some places supplemented with concrete crossings and steps to facilitate the movement of tourists over rough terrain. Also for this purpose, on steep slopes, ropes are tied to the trees. The tour of the park will take a day if you start in the early morning.
