Family travel,  Johor,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia: Tanjung Piai National Park, Johor

“Hey, do you know that the southernmost tip of Mainland Asia is not far from here?” My husband asked me after driving out from Nusajaya, Johor. “Really? Where? Show me,” I replied. And off we went to Pontian where the  the southernmost tip of Mainland Asia is at.

Located within the district of Pontian, Johor, Tanjung Piai National Park covers an area of over 926ha — 526ha of which comprise of coastal mangroves. Entry into the Tanjung Piai park requires a minimal fee of just RM3 for adults (Malaysians) and RM5 for foreign visitors, payable at  at a small ticket counter just before entering the visitor’s complex.

Tanjung Piai

The above monument, made of eco-friendly-reinforced concrete, was erected in 2001 to mark Tanjung Piai’s unique geographical position as the “Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia”. Measured at 20 metres high and 10 metres wide, the monument’s stark grey colour represents the rich mangroves and mudflats of Tanjung Piai. The monument is adorned by image of Paku Piai Raya (Acrostichum aureum) – the indigenous fern from which Tanjung Piai derives its name. Tanjung means ‘cape’ in Malay, and Piai is the name of the fern species.

The monument is just a landmark but the real southernmost tip is actually situated some meters away from the visitor’s complex.

Visitor's Complex

534m

We love the fact that there are many information boards provided along the trails to educate visitors.

infoboard

educational signboard

Along the trail we also got to see monkey, kingfisher, mudskipper, telescopium and crab.

mollusc

After walking more than 500 meters, we reached the actual site of southernmost tip of mainland Asia. Yay! We made it!

smt
Southernmost tip of Mainland Asia.

smt2
A globe structure to mark the cape as 0ne of the Ramsar sites.

piaisunset
Sunset at Tanjung Piai.

So how do you get here? From Kuala Lumpur, take the North-South Expressway (NSE) south past Machap, then take the Simpang Rengam exit (Interchange 247) onto the highway headed for Tanjung Piai, via the Benut – Pontian – Kukup highways (Highway 96, Highway 5 and Highway 95). Once near Kukup, follow signboards leading to Tanjung Piai.

As for public transportation, currently there is no direct bus service to the Tanjung Piai Johor National Park. Take a bus from KL to Pontian and then take taxi from Pontian bus station to Tanjung Piai.

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