Lingga Islands

Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago are a group of islands in Indonesia, that located in the south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Islands province, Sumatra. They are south of the populated Riau Archipelago, which known for the industrial island of Batam and the tourist-frequented island of Bintan, although the Lingga Islands themselves are rarely visited due to the infrequent local transportation.



The equator goes through the northern tip of Lingga, the name of the main island in the archipelago. The capital lies at Daik, with the inhabitants that mainly from Malay, Bugis and Chinese (predominantly Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien) tribes.



Lingga derives its name from the profile of Mount Daik; Lingam is the Sanskrit word for phallus. This mountain has three sharp teeth as peak, one of them seems to have broken off at its base, and it was immortalized by Malay poets as the symbol of durability.

To reach this islands, there are ferry services to the islands from the outside the archipelago, which come from the provincial capital to the north, Tanjung Pinang on Bintan, including from Singapore. Singkep has two ports, Dabo near Dabosingkep and Jago near Sungaibuluh. However, a high-speed ferry continues to connect Tanjung Pinang to Singkep, from where local boats may be chartered to Lingga. From Lingga, Daik is the major town and port. It can be reached in a day from Singapore transferring at Tanjung Pinang.



There are a number of fine beaches with some coral around the Archipelago but there is very little tourism regarding the poor transportation links with the outside world.


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