Ulu Muda Forest Reserve

Ulu Muda is about a hundred and sixty thousand hectares of lowland and hill forest in north-east Kedah, and its practical importance is hydrological: the catchment feeds the Muda, Pedu and Ahning reservoirs, which supply the irrigation for the Kedah and Perlis rice plains - the northern rice bowl that produces a large share of the national crop - along with drinking water for Kedah and most of Penang. Logging concessions in the reserve have therefore been contested for years, with hydrologists and the state on different sides, and the argument is unresolved. Ecologically it holds one of the better remaining elephant populations in the peninsula, along with tapir, gaur, tiger and ten hornbill species, and the draw for visitors is the salt licks, natural mineral seeps where animals come to drink, watched at night from hides reached by boat.

What's there

• Salt licks watched at night - hides at mineral seeps reached by boat.
• A working catchment - the water supply for the northern rice plains and Penang.
• Ten hornbill species - among the better bird lists in the peninsula.
• A contested reserve - logging in a water catchment, argued over for years.

When to go

February to September. Three days.

Good to know

Access is by boat with permits and guides arranged in advance - there is no independent visiting. Wildlife at the licks is not guaranteed and hides mean long silent waits. Leeches and mosquitoes are constant.

Nearby

Pedu Lake is west; the Thai border is north.

Key facts