Kenyir Lake
The Largest Man Made Lake In Southeast Asia, Whose Three Hundred And Forty Islands Are The Tops Of Hills The Dam Drowned In 1985 · Kuala Berang, Terengganu
THE KENYIR DAM CLOSED IN 1985 AND THE WATER ROSE OVER TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND SQUARE KILOMETRES OF FOREST, making THE LARGEST MAN-MADE LAKE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. WHAT LOOKS LIKE AN ARCHIPELAGO OF THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY ISLANDS IS THE TOPS OF THE HILLS THAT WERE NOT COVERED, and in the shallows the DEAD TREES ARE STILL STANDING where the forest drowned. It is beautiful and it is a drowned landscape, and both things are true. THE WAY TO DO IT IS A HOUSEBOAT - you sleep on the water, move between waterfalls that pour straight into the lake, and fish for toman. THERE IS AN ELEPHANT VILLAGE, limestone caves, and a back door into TAMAN NEGARA at Tanjung Mentong that almost nobody uses. IT IS AN HOUR FROM KUALA TERENGGANU and the coast, which makes it an easy pairing. Take a houseboat rather than a day trip, ask about recent rainfall before booking the waterfalls because they thin badly in dry spells, and remember that submerged stumps are everywhere under a lake that was forest forty years ago.
Tasik Kenyir, Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu, Kuala Berang, Terengganu, Malaysia
KENYIR IS ABOUT AN HOUR FROM KUALA TERENGGANU by road, via KUALA BERANG, and boats leave from GAWI JETTY and several smaller ones - a car is the practical way there. HOUSEBOATS AND BOAT TRIPS ARE BOOKED IN ADVANCE through operators; day trips run to the waterfalls and caves. THE WATERFALLS VARY ENORMOUSLY WITH RAINFALL - spectacular after wet weather and thin in dry spells, so ask before committing. THE LAKE LEVEL MOVES and changes which landings work. TANJUNG MENTONG IS A TAMAN NEGARA ENTRANCE reached across the lake and needs its own permit. THE NORTHEAST MONSOON, ROUGHLY NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY, brings heavy rain to Terengganu and disrupts boats. SUBMERGED STUMPS ARE A REAL HAZARD to small craft. Terengganu is conservative; dress accordingly off the water.