Dataran Lang or Langkawi Eagle Square is one of the landmark Langkawi attractions that symbolize the Jewel of Kedah, Langkawi. The most prominent feature of the square has to be the giant man made eagle statue located at the beautiful Kuah Bay on the southern east coast of Langkawi Island. The 12 meter tall reddish brown eagle stands on top of a huge star shaped concrete platform with its wings spread wide open, majestically overlooking the entire Eagle Square itself.
So why use the giant eagle to represent Langkawi? This is because Langkawi is the home of many white bellied brown wings fish eagle. The Brahminy Kite Haliastur Indus and the Haliaeetus Leucogaster soar high above the Kuah Bay plunging down into the sea water to catch the unwary tropical fish for food. The name of Langkawi itself comes from the Malay word "heLANG" which means eagle and "KAWI" which signify the reddish brown color that the eagle has.
Prior to the construction of the giant eagle, ships from the Straits of Malacca used the Raya Mountain as a beacon to steer themselves in to secluded Kuah Jetty of Langkawi. After the construction of the Eagle Square, the towering eagle has taken over as the main guiding sign for ships to come into the island. The square itself is wonderfully layout with 5 triangle shape arranged in a star shape at the center and a 360 degree panoramic view of marvelous mountains, lakes etc. There are 2 interesting and unique architectural pavilions on the square itself behind the towering eagle. Within the pavilions are shops selling memorable souvenirs from key chain to t-shirts, refreshments and tit bits and halls for events as well.
At night the entire place is illuminated with wonderful lightings that will make visitors holding up their camera taking photo for remembrance without a doubt. The highlight of the night scenery is undoubtedly the giant eagle again as the vast structure shine brightly by the lights below making it an eye catching sight that you would not want to miss. Besides the haunting giant eagle, the 2 high roofed pavilions also stand out amazingly under the unique night lighting. The cooling night breeze and the awesome lightings at the square makes it's a wonderful place to visit in Langkawi in the evening. Visitors are advised not to visit the place during noon time as the scotching sun and the hot tiles within the square will make the trip an unbearably oven like one, if you catch what I mean. Early morning and late in the evening are ideal time to visit this wonderful place.
Adjacent to the Eagle Square is a picturesque lake with a lovely fountain and a wooden arcade right through it. There is also an array of the lovely food stalls serving some of the tastiest local food in Malaysia such as the local Laksa or the spicy rice noodle soup. Other than these, there are the CHOGM Park, Legend Park and the Jetty Point Shopping Mall nearby to keep the visitors busy for the day.
A visit to the Langkawi Eagle Square will definitely give the visitors a unique experience to enjoy in terms of its picturesque view and majestic giant eagle sculpture. While we are enjoying ourselves, it is always important to remember to give back to the local communities that contribute towards such an awesome place for us to visit. We can do so via choosing to stay in the local home-stays or backpackers lodge over the commercialized big hotels. Other than this we can also have our meals in the local food stalls that are opened by the locals with their food stock taken from the local farmers and families. By frequenting their stalls we can help them generate more income while at the same time able to taste the traditional local delicacies which is a very good way in terms of responsible traveling concern.
