Things To Do in Cape Rachado/Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson (PD)

Did you know that Port Dickson's popular Rumah Api Tanjung Tuan or Cape Rachado Lighthouse ("Broken Cape" in Portuguese) is administered by the state of Melaka/Malacca and located in Negeri Sembilan. Strange, I know. 

I asked the guy at the entrance on 'why and how come' but he have no definite answer. My own conclusion is simple, the lighthouse is one of the oldest in Malaysia, dating as far back as 16th century or during the period when Portuguese rule Melaka. In fact it is named after the naval battle between the Dutch VOC and Portuguese fleets - Battle of Cape Rachado in 1606, during Melaka golden era. Hence...

As Farah of ThatSoFarah and I start walking around at the entrance to snap some photos, guess what we saw? An interesting signage or map, we were beyond surprise after reading it, our first thought was...

"How come I didn't know about this?"
"We need to check it out!"
"How do you know it is his foot print?"
"We must share this great information....!"

Curious to know what was this "brand new information"???

Check out item No 5 - Tapak Kaki Hang Tuah/Hang Tuah Foot Print. Wouldn't you be curious and eager to know? Well, we did! Since we were there at noon and there were barely any people, we told the guy that if were not back in 3 hours, send a rescue team (kiasu!). We even took his number, smart heh! 

Yeah, you need 2-3 hours to cover the Tanjung Tuan/Cape Rachado Geological Heritage site.

800 meters of slope walk.

After 10-15mins walk (read : uphill crawl), this site welcomes us. Finally.

Tanjung Tuan/Cape Rachado information.

The lighthouse was built in 1817 and the present lighthouse was constructed in 1863. It is believed that Parameswara, the first sultan of Melaka was buried at Tanjung Tuan. Legend says that he was buried beneath this lighthouse and that there was also a tunnel leading to the sea. This create more curiosity to Farah and I (Indian Jones sangat, hehehheeee...).

The view was beautiful and the water was clear. Surprisingly.

We decide to look for the Tapak Kaki Hang Tuah or Hang Tuah Foot Print. 'Foot print' as in where his first landed or start, not his actual foot print :)

Perigi Belanda or Dutch Well is the first site we passed by, it is a good 15-20mins walk from the lighthouse. This Perigi Belanda was used by the Dutch as their main water source for drinking.

This was the highlight of the walk before reaching Tapak Kaki Hang Tuah.

We managed to find the next site - Perigi Keramat or Mystical Well. I saw some prayer stick and stuff for rituals. Oh well....

3 different steps leading to 3 different area and we were not sure which one leading to Tapak Kaki Hang Tuah (the Hang Tuag Foot Print) from here. Hemm.... this is not good (as we were running short of time, our 3 hours were almost up). Then I decided to peep over the boulder and saw what looked like the picture in the signage we took earlier - the foot print. Yeay! Dah jumpa!

The hole (lekuk) is known to be the Tapak Kaki Hang Tuah /Hang Tuah Foot Print. Tuh aje, gigih dak!

Ending our quest (hike je actually) :)

 A long climb back.

Cape Rachado (Tanjung Tuan) Lighthouse

Entrance Fee : RM1.00

Address : Rumah Api, Tanjung Tuan, 78200 Alor Gajah

How to get there by public transport

1. Take KTM train from KL Sentral to Seremban (between 1.5 - 2 hours ride)

2. Take the bus from Seremban town to Port Dickson town (approximately 1 hour ride)

3. Take the bus from Port Dickson town to Tanjung Tuan (Stop at Jalan Pantai)

4. Walk from Jalan Pantai to Hutan Rekreasi Tanjung Tuan/Tanjung Tuan Recreational Park (45mins walk)