Ulu Muda Forest Reserve
The rainforest that supplies the water for the northern rice bowl, with salt licks where elephants come at night.
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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 you actually see
- 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.
Honest expectations
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.
What to pack for Ulu Muda Forest Reserve
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
