The private island with exotic wildlife, ancient jungles ... and luxury

One of the most desirable spots on Pangkor Laut is permanently reserved for the private island's pickiest guests. Close to the infinity pool, with unmarred ocean views framed by emerald rainforest slopes, it's as idyllic as the overwater villas nearby.

No wonder these VIPs are content. They overlook the island's jetty, where speedboats whisk guests in from real world to tropical paradise. Chilled beats drift from the poolside Royal Bay Beach Club. The sea sighs gently as a light breeze strokes its glassy surface.

"Nowhere else will do for these guys," says Pangkor Laut's chief naturalist, Aris Ariffin, as we crane our necks for a glimpse.

The colony of island fruit bats dangles above, in the only one among thousands of trees in Pangkor Laut's 120 hectares of two-million-year-old rainforest to win their approval.

An identical, neighbouring tree? Too near the pool. Farther from the footpath? Too quiet. Mindful of the bats' threatened status, Aris and his team of conservationists have learned these little critters are finnickier than the high-spending humans helicoptered into the island's uber-luxe Estates. This spot, at the heart of the resort, is theirs. "If they're happy, we're happy," Aris says.

Pangkor Laut makes no apologies for pampering its precious wildlife and human guests with equal care. Almost 80 per cent of the luxury island resort, a couple of kilometres off peninsular Malaysia's west coast, is covered in one of the world's oldest rainforests. Since its beginnings in the late 1980s, the owners have pulled off a tricky feat: nurturing a pristine ecosystem at close quarters with 142 villas set in gardens, on hillsides and over water, nine Estate residences, the sybaritic Spa Village and six restaurants serving up the region's rich kaleidoscope of cuisines.

It's a treat to see luxury and wildlife coexist so comfortably.

Glance up from your post-massage nap in the Spa Village's ocean-side gardens, and an oriental pied hornbill might be snoozing beside you.

White-bellied sea eagles circle lazily above, and you might spot a smooth-coated otter taking a dip nearby.

On the daily guided jungle walk, one of Pangkor Laut's most popular activities, we traverse the island from shore to shore, through the virgin rainforest, meeting fellow guests with more or fewer legs than us, all enjoying a five-star lifestyle.

A wooden nesting box, handmade by Aris, provides a luxury villa for a female oriental pied hornbill. She's sealed herself inside behind a wall of dried mud to incubate her eggs, and will depend on her hubby to deliver food through a teeny slit until her baby's ready to emerge.

The charismatic and absurdly beautiful hornbills, with their long eyelashes and outsized yellow 'helmet' atop a curved bill, are an island favourite.

Males sometimes hover near the decadent Feast Village breakfast buffet, hoping for a dropped dim sum to placate their sealed-up wives, and providing Instagram gold for guests.

The jungle walk ends at Emerald Bay, where the clue's in the name; jade green jungle and matching ocean meet on a stunning swathe of snowy gold with hammocks, loungers and perfect swimming conditions. It's home to Chapman's Bar, a postcard scene to savour a Malaysian banana leaf curry with your feet in the sand, and now a new building that's an exciting development for Pangkor Laut's award-winning conservation endeavours.

During the pandemic lockdowns, around 100 staff were stranded on the island. The weird situation created new roles; office staff tended to gardening and repairs; spa therapists led yoga classes to ease cabin fever.

The conservation team seized a unique opportunity to dismantle 22 abandoned old rainforest villas on the other side of the island, transport the recycled teak timber to Emerald Bay and construct this new Conservation Centre - all by hand. Everyone, including senior management, helped out with the backbreaking labour. It was worth it, says Aris. "Guests have always been curious to know more about our wildlife."

It's easy to see why the island's colony of wild boar was so determined to live here, they swam over from the mainland. Or why the late, great Luciano Pavarotti, for whom its grandest suite is named, fell in love with the island and declared the Spa Village "a miracle".

He wasn't wrong. After you've floated through the Bath House Ritual, a series of Asian bathing traditions in various dreamy pools and pavilions, then sunk into peaceful slumber in a hammock beneath a sea almond tree, you too would consider a 'reverse Chapman' and swim like the boars to seek refuge on these healing shores.

Getting there: Pangkor Laut provides speedboat transfers (about 20 minutes) from its mainland marina jetty, about a 1.5 hour drive from Ipoh, where Scoot flights connect from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Staying there: A garden villa for two, including breakfast, starts from $180 a night (two nights minimum).