Pulau Hantu in real means two islands. Meaning “ghost” in Malaysian, the Pulau Hantu has a very interesting story about its creation. The two islands are so close to each other that at low tide, you can just walk across it to reach the other island.
The name of the island in real refers to the almost disappearing of Pulau Hantu when the tide is high. The two islands are also called Little (Kechil) Ghost Island and Big (Besar) Ghost Island. According to its chronicle, the island was the place of a huge duel of warriors – one smaller and one bigger and during their battle many people have died. Therefore, the jinns of the sea got angry with the warriors and created a huge whirlpool to suck them both into the deepest waters where they have continued their battle. Yet the Gods of Heaven got angry with the jinn to interfere with human affairs so they created two islands out of the two warriors. Although it is a legend, we can never be sure of Pulau Hantu. Today, it is a great site for boat excursions and several scuba divers and anglers come here from time to time. The beaches of Pulau Hantu are beautiful and perfect for a great swim. Camping on the islands is also possible after getting the confirmation from the Governmental office dealing with Pulau Hantu.
Here at Pulau Hantu, you can also get to see some Mangrove swamps and really a beautiful collection of all sorts of water and jungle plants. Beautiful fishes such as the small clown fishes, anemone fishes and the beautiful mushroom corals are not rare to see over here at the beautiful islands of Pulau Hantu. Moreover, if you are lucky, you can even get to see the seahorse or the giant clam too. Singapore had a great plan in order to install a marine sanctuary at the Pulau Hantu Islands in order to develop the cleanness of water, for developing the visibility and this way making corals to develop more. Unfortunately the plan was dropped but hopefully it will be accepted in a different, better version. Until then, the National Parks Board and the National Biodiversity Centre has an ongoing project running from 2005 to monitor the state of corals and reef fish activity, healthiness and overall state in the region. The programme involves the implementation of entirely new research techniques widely appraised all over the world for their uniqueness such as the Reef Check and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
You can get to Pulau Hantu by boat, which runs out from Singapore’s West Coast Pier Terminal. You can also try the great program running out from Sentosa including the visiting of Pulau Hantu and the Sisters’ Islands as a daily program with guiding. This is the best way for you to get to know more about the legends and all the preservation works in this area. In case you want to sleep over, you need permission from the Sentosa Leisure Group.