About

At present day, Lembah Bujang is a place of continued discovery and a destination with spectacular corners for everyone to enjoy, learn and get involved. Understanding that nature preservation, cultural uphold and tourism advancements are a sharing process, the Lembah Bujang is being embraced as a place of sustainable rural and eco-tourism developments at a community’s initiative. We intend to provide a collaborative platform of exchange for the community to ensure that the Lembah Bujang is developed as a sustainable area preserving its great value to the benefit of local population and visitors alike. While local community members are welcome to use our platform to come up with ideas on nature preservation methods, cultural trails, social entrepreneurship opportunities and more - friends and travelers from around the world are welcome to learn more and join us for a visit to some of our amazing sites through volunteering opportunities, scientific visits, or just holiday visit. More information on Sustainable Tourism Trails in Lembah Bujang will be made available soon!

Areas

The Lembah Bujang caters with a touristic offer for visitors in search of authentic experiences and learning about the Malaysian natural and cultural environment, ranging anywhere from mangrove riverside visits and forest re-planting activities, local cuisine cooking classes, village (kampung) and fisherman (boathouse) homestays, archeological park and museum outings to urban art trails, mountain trekking and crisp waterfall dips!

MANGROVE

The Merbok Mangrove Forest (currently under evaluation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve area) is a spectacular testimony to nature, its distinctive beauty, ecosystem value and contribution to the livelihoods of communities along the river. This mangrove safeguards some of the world’s most distinctive and critically endangered species, including the Eye of the Crocodile (“Beru Mata Buaya”) of which only 200 plants are remaining worldwide. Local social entrepreneurs cater for engaging visits to the riverside with mangrove re-planting activities, sunset dinning, birdwatching, educational visits, and much more.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

The cultural heritage trails in Lembah Bujang include a large archeological complex spread out among palm plantations in Sungai Batu with excavation sites and standing Candis shedding light on evidence of civilization and community activities possibly dating much earlier than those in neighboring nations. Visits to well-equipped museum, excavation sites and surroundings offer glances to extraordinary history and cultural confluences of the area.

RURAL LANDSCAPES & LIVING

Lembah Bujang is a destination of picturesque kampung (village) life and traditions, offering unique glances to Malaysian culture and regional folkloric confluence with an authentic local layout framed by string of rice paddies, mountain and coastal sights. The variety of local population, food (including Malay-style refreshing serving of kopi!), culture and traditions is remarkable. Multitude of accommodation options (including homestays) and activities are welcoming domestic and international visitors to embrace kampung harmony.

Sustainability & Social Entrepreneurship

Many of the inhabitants of Lembah Bujang area live and work among the mangroves and its surrounding area, extending on historical presence of natural and human habitats in this area. While this synergy of nature and humankind is to be celebrated, it is also to be taken with due cautiousness and care to avoid the already ongoing and problematic environmental degradation, as well as critical loss of opportunities for subsistence of natural ecosystems and family livelihoods in the area.

OYSTER FARMING

Sungai Merbok houses the only oyster farm in the river stream embraced as a part of the Knowledge Transfer Program (KTP) with the support of the Malaysian government and Universiti Sains Malaysia. Culturing sustainably over 50,000 oysters on the mangrove riverside, the oyster farm provides second income to a local family through sales of oysters in tourism spots and direct welcoming of visitor to the farming site.

PERMACULTURE & ORGANIC GROWTH

Several sites are currently being managed to implement the principles of permaculture and organic growth in Lembah Bujang, including on-land and an island setting off Tanjung Dawai (Kedah). In the effort to engage the community in practices of sustainable living, projects focus on establishment of self-sustaining edible gardens and poultry growth, seed banking, biodiversity survey, sustainable architecture, green energy and water management, as well as nature clean-ups.

TUITION CENTRE

Realizing early that sustainability relies on education, the Puncak Education & Charity Club is a long-standing tuition center established by a local visionary, a USM-retiree, in 1996 in Kampung Bujang. The center offers complementary education in science, math and English to over 130 underprivileged children of the area. Its operations are fully dependent on voluntary contributions. Reach out to us or visit them directly at Kampung Bujang to learn more about ways to engage or contribute.

SUPPORTERS

The importance of establishment of Lembah Bujang as a sustainable tourism destination is recognized as a necessary effort aimed at preservation of our community, its natural and cultural heritage, as well the creation of social entrepreneurs and tourism development opportunities.

NEWS

CONTACT

LEMBAH BUJANG
Sustainable Tourism Development Initiative
Tel.: + 60 19 690 56 30
E-mail: info@lembahbujang.com
Address: No .11, Jalan Melati 1, Bandar Amanjaya 08000 Sungai Petani, Kedah

MAP

Located in the state of Kedah, northwest Malaysia, the Lembah Bujang encompasses a broad area surrounding the Merbok River, reaching out to Mount Jerai in the north and the Muda River in the south. With additional tributes from Bujang and Petani River, the Merbok River water network caters for some of the most unique natural riverside settings harboring a long history of human development and cultural charms.

The city of Sungai Petani stands out as the largest urbanization in the Lembah Bujang area, and the seat of its urban life with a variety of accommodation, restaurants, temples, cafes, cinemas, shopping malls and interesting corners to explore. Several Street Art spots decorate Sg. Petani, Semeling and Alor Setar (as the capital of Kedah state and a truly Malaysian city on your way to and from Lembah Bujang!)

HOW TO GET THERE?

BY ROAD

If you are coming through Penang Int’l. Airport (or Georgetown itself) you can opt for straight (45min.) drive to Sg. Petani via Express Highway - E1 (direction North) by crossing the bridge to mainland. Or you can chose to take the road through the panoramic rice paddies (via Kepala Batas).
If coming through Langkawi, you can take the ferry from Kuah to Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal (about 60min.) and then drive as soon as you touch the ground. You would navigate to the Express Highway – E1 (direction South) passing by Alor Setar and reaching Sungai Petani (about 80min).
Car rentals are easily available in Penang and Langkawi. Or via online services. In Lembah Bujang area, car rental is still relatively rare – but motorbikes (scooters) can be rented as a good transportation alternative as roads are ample and in good conditions.

BY TRAIN

There are regular trains to Sg. Petani running from many places in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur.
The most convenient arrival would be by commuter train Butterworth (20-min. ferry ride from Georgetown), where the Butterworth Railway Station share the complex with the Ferry Terminal. So it will be a short crossover walk from the ferry to the train. Trains are new and run relatively frequent (every 60-90min) with direction to Gurun, Padang Besar and other will get you to Lembah Bujang. Cost is less than 4 MYR on average (one-way).

BY AIR

Lembah Bujang has in its proximities 2 major international airports (PEN – Penang Int’l. Airport; LGK – Langkawi Int’l. Airport) and 1 domestic airport (AOR – Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Alor Setar).