Penang to Langkawi – 6 days: island to island

The most extensive version of the route between the two islands, designed for active cyclists riding 70–100 km a day. Day 1 is the "hidden side" of Penang – fruit orchards and fishing villages far from George Town (88 km). Day 2 leads out to the mainland, towards Gunung Jerai, with an optional, demanding climb up one of Malaysia's steepest peaks – 82 km in the saddle, an average gradient of over 8%, and along the way a chance to encounter thousand-year-old temple ruins on the mountainside.
Day 3 is pure pleasure – flat, rhythmic riding through the rice fields of Kedah, Malaysia's rice granary (74 km).
Day 4 follows the coast to the ferry port and the crossing to Langkawi (56 km) – it's worth knowing that the island's very name comes from the Malay word "helang", meaning eagle, and more precisely refers to the Brahminy kite, whose image is today the archipelago's unofficial symbol.
Day 5 brings the rolling roads of the island itself, part of some of the oldest rainforests in the world, up to 10 million years old – keep an eye out for monkeys and birds of prey circling above the bays (90 km).

For those keen, the optional Day 6 is a climb through the rainforest up Gunung Raya (881 m above sea level) – the highest point of Langkawi (55 km). A tough, steep climb, but the reward is one of the best views of the whole trip: from the viewing platform at the summit, surrounded by forest with mountain hawks and white-bellied eagles circling overhead, a panorama unfolds over the entire archipelago and the Andaman Sea.