ABOUT TIOMAN ISLAND

Pulau Tioman (Pulau is Malay for Island) is the largest island on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is located in the South China Sea, approximately 32 km from Mersing, the closest mainland port. Measuring some 22 km long and 11 km at the widest point, the island has a total land area of 133.6 sq. km.







Pulau Tioman now belongs to the state of Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia. In its early history, Pulau Tioman was known as a stopover for sailors, fishermen and traders to get fresh water and firewood or simply for evading storms. The island was a settlement for Malay fishermen several hundred years ago and there are now six major kampungs (villages) on the island, mainly on the west coast. The number of villagers is now some 2,650, most of who were originally fishermen from Pahang or Johor. Rubber and coconut are the main crops planted on the flat coastal area.


Tioman has beautiful beaches with surrounding marine areas. The landscape and the beauty of the island have attracted many tourists, locally as well as from abroad, and the island was once voted one of the 10 most beautiful in the world. In addition to fishing activities, tourism has become a very important income generating activity on the island. Many tourist facilities such as chalets, rest houses and hotels have been built, either by the state government or the private sector. While it is fair to say that development over the last 10 years has had some adverse impact on the islands' environment, it remains a beautiful and restful place.



Apart from beautiful beaches and marine ecosystems, Tioman has also been gazetted as a wildlife reserve by the state government to protect its flora and fauna. This gazzetement was done on 28 September 1972 for the inland forest area encompassing 12,383 ha, but in 1994 part of this area was excised for agriculture development and tourism activities.


The marine area around Pulau Tioman and eight other nearby islands have also been gazzetted as marine parks and marine reserves confined to an , area two nautical miles from the coast. The establishment of the marine parks and reserves is to conserve and protect marine flora and fauna such as fishes, coral reefs and aquatic floras from being destroyed by fishing and other human activities.

It is thought that Tioman was only separated from the mainland 10,000 years ago, before which much of South East Asia was dry land, with sea levels about 300 feet lower than current depths. Today, most of the island is covered by tropical rain forest dating from the last ice age, with hilly topography, inland forest and small flat land areas along the coast. Walking over the island through the jungle is a popular activity for visitors. Pulau Tioman is underlaid by volcanic, plutonic and contact metamorphic rocks. The volcanic rocks occur mainly on the eastern, northern and southern parts of the island.

Part of the island coastal area is made up of rocky, sandy beaches. Several river systems coming from the hilly-forested areas represent the main supply of fresh water to the villagers. Small patches of mangrove swamp forests are also found on the western part of the island