Monuments to visit Northwest

One of Langkawi's major attractions. This cable car takes you 708 m up to the summit of Mount Mat Cincang. The view of the archipelago, the Datai Peninsula and the Andaman Sea is breathtaking. The SkyBridge, an impressive suspension bridge inaugurated in 2004, offers a 100 m walk over the void. A footpath leads to the Telaga Tujuh waterfalls, which can also be seen from the cable car.

Opened in 1905, this school is one of the most prestigious elite institutions in ancient Malaya. Some of the leaders of contemporary Malaysia, including former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, were educated here. Anthony Burgess, author of The Malay Trilogy and Clockwork Orange, also taught here for a time. Sons of wealthy families receive a thoroughly British education at this school, which professes the precept of "a healthy mind in a healthy body". Studies in English and intensive sports are compulsory.

This palace was built in 1933 after the royal palace was destroyed in the floods of 1926. The sultan chose a new location, a little further from the river and therefore less exposed to disasters. It faces the Istana Kenagan, which served as a temporary residence for the royal family. The immense building blends Western and Eastern influences: a rectangular floor plan and large bulbous domes. The palace was extended in 1984. More than a hectare was added to accommodate garages, a banquet hall and a new throne room.

Fort Cornwallis was built in 1786 on the very spot where Captain Francis Light, founder of the Penang colony, set foot on land. Initially built of wood, it was rebuilt in brick between 1804 and 1805. What remains is the enclosure, 3 m wide in places and around 3.50 m high, the cannons and, on the left as you enter, the cells, now renamed the Memorial Gallery. Here you can see photos, engravings and read vague historical explanations. The famous Sri Rambai cannon stands at the corner of the fort, and is easy to recognize: it's the only wheeled bronze cannon on the island. The cannon is famous in Malayan straw huts thanks to the following facts. Its builder, a Dutchman by the name of Jan Burgerhuis, arrived on the island in 1603, and offered it to the Sultan of Johor in 1606 to help him in his fight against Malacca. In 1795, the cannon passed into the hands of the Sultan of Selangor. When an English junk was attacked in the area and sunk, the English retaliated by raiding the island and seizing 29 cannons, which they loaded onto a ship named the Sri Rambai. The cannon was part of the cargo. Deemed useless as it was out of fashion, it was thrown overboard and remained at the bottom of the sea until 1800, when it was solemnly raised in the presence of the Vice-Sultan of Selangor. Since then, it is said that barren women flower it in the hope that this gift will turn the wheel of fertility. You can walk around the enclosure. The chapel in the right-hand corner is not open to visitors.