Pasir Tengkorak Beach

Pasir Tengkorak beach, located on the northern coastline of Datai bay, is the most radiant beach in Langkawi. With its shallow water, soft sand, and dense green forests, this beach is a prominent picnic spot for locals and tourists alike.

Tengkorak beach is situated on the northern edge of of the Hutan Lipur Pasir Tengkorak forest, which starts only a few meters away from the beach. Under cool shade of the trees you will find picnic tables, toilets, shower rooms, beach front huts and rooms to make your prayers. The gentle waves on this beach allow easy swimming opportunities. A smaller extension of the Tengkorak beach can be accessed through a stony staircase. If you don’t particularly enjoy getting wet, then trek into the woodland nearby. The three-tier waterfall known as the Temurun waterfall is only a short drive away from here. The beach itself is easily accessible from the road Jalan Datai (Road #161).

Pasir Tengkorak is also known as the Sandy Skulls Beach. This eerie name has many legends associated with it, including stories of pirates and mariners whose bodies washed up on the shore after a storm in the Strait of Malacca. A more plausible theory states that the skulls found on the shores belonged to the prisoners who tried to escape from the island prison of Ko Tarutao in Thailand, which is on the north of Langkawi.

Troops of monkeys linger near the beach and it would be unwise to leave any bags of food unattended. If you decide to enter the water, watch out for the jelly fish bloom from January to June.