Hulu Perak which borders Thailand, Kedah and Kelantan has three main towns in Gerik, Lenggong and Pengkalan Hulu.

It is dotted with traditional kampungs on the banks of Sungai Perak and other rivers which flow into Temenggor, Chenderoh and Raban lakes.

Hulu Perak is also strategically located on the main land route linking Perak, Kelantan and Thailand.

Lenggong member of parliament Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the lakes and mountainous areas offer new ecotourism products to domestic and foreign tourists.

He said Hulu Perak is famous for Kampung Beng, a traditional kampung on the banks of Chenderoh lake, used as shooting locations by local and foreign film production companies.

The international film ‘Anna and The King’ which was shot on location in Ipoh and Batu Gajah also had some scenes of the kampung inhabited by 198 families.

Some 9,000 tourists from France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and United States visited the kampung under the ‘inap desa’ homestay programme last year.

Shamsul said what makes Kampung Beng unique is that the motorboat remains as the mode of transport for people in six kampungs; Batu Ring, Durau, Beng Dalam, Durian Lubuk, Dusun and Sekolah.

“Motorboats are used to travel from one kampung to another. Kampung Beng is the largest floating kampung settlement in Perak,” he said.

Most of the 4,000 hectare kampung settlement is covered by lakes and mountainous areas with thick jungles.

Tourists to Kampung Beng can also visit the cattle and deer grazing areas and terraced herbal padi cultivation by a Taiwanese company.

Shamsul said 59 kampung houses have joined the ‘inap desa’ homestay programme which allows tourists to sample the kampung lifestyle complete with lake tours, fishing and playing with tame deer.

“The activities packaged under the agrotourism concept provide kamung people with additional income.”

He said the grazing areas which have been around for 20 years have succeeded in breeding the deer just like in the wild.

“A mature 16 month-old deer weighing 80kg each is sold at RM800-RM1,150 each. Kampung Beng venison tastes better than those from other areas,” Shamsul said.

Abdullah Mohd Dali, 38, said the kampung has become more popular, thanks to aggressive promotion by the Perak government and tour agencies.

“The winded Kuala Kangsar-Gerik road has also been upgraded. Other than staying in kampung houses, tourists can also stay at resthouses in Lenggong and Gerik and the new resort at Tasik Raban,” he said.

The Tasik Raban Resort costing RM3.8 million was built by the Lenggong District Council two years ago.

The Perak government had approved an allocation of RM3.5 million to expand the resort.

Source: Bernama