Lake Chini

Chini is a chain of twelve shallow basins, locally called laut, linked into one body of water that drains through the Sungai Chini into the Pahang river, and it was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2009. In the flowering months a large part of the surface goes under white and pink lotus, which is the image the lake is known by. The Jakun, an Orang Asli group, live on the shore and their oral tradition holds that a city or a serpent lies beneath the water, a story that has attracted a good deal of speculative attention over the years. The honest situation is that the lake has been badly affected by upstream mining, logging and a downstream barrage: water quality, fish stocks and the lotus cover have all declined, and the state of it varies a great deal year to year.

What you actually see

• Twelve linked basins - the chain of shallow lauts making up the lake.
• Lotus in flower - white and pink cover across the surface in season.
• A Jakun settlement - the Orang Asli community on the shore.
• Visible decline - the effects of upstream mining, logging and the barrage.

When to go

June to September for the lotus, though cover is unreliable. A day, or overnight.

Honest expectations

The lake is degraded and the lotus bloom has failed in some years - check before travelling for it. Water quality is poor in places. Facilities are limited and the resort has been run down.

Nearby

Pekan and the Pahang river are east; Kuantan is north-east.