One of Tasik Kenyir’s 19 waterfalls is now the domain of women.
Many of the lake’s waterfalls can only be accessed by boat at the Pengkalan Gawi jetty. Guests seeking to visit some waterfalls even need to obtain a permit, according to the Tasik Kenyir Lake’s website.
Terengganu officials responded to many West Asia women tourists’ request for a woman-only waterfall, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said told reporters. Boat staff going to the women-only waterfall and security will also only be women.
Terengganu officials announced the women-only waterfall and the duty-free lake with the launch of the month-long Kenyir Festival 2014 on May 4.
The festival runs April 29 through May 29 at the Pengkalan Gawi Lake.
Tasik Kenyir is Southeast Asia’s largest man-made lake. Built in 1985, numerous rivers and streams flow into the lake with its many waterfalls and 340 man-made islands created within 161.5 square miles (260 square kilometers). The lake has become a nature preserve making it a major tourist attraction.
Last year, the lake attracted about 400,000 tourists, reported Bernama.
The designation of the women-only waterfall is a part of the Terengganu government’s $92 million (RM300) development effort to promote the lake as a unique international tourist attraction, says Ahmad.
The park also features the Kenyir Elephant Village, a privately-managed elephant park scheduled to open May 9. The park is home to nine tame elephants and 14 wild elephants. Terengganu officials anticipate that that they will add 21 more elephants, Ahmad says.
Some of the unique features of the village will be the tree-top chalets, a suspension bridge and a perimeter lookout point.
The lake will soon feature a hotel, a water recreation park and a 1,000-bay car park to accommodate visitors at Pengkalan Gawi, Ahmand told reporters.
Improvements already made include running electricity cables 10 miles further out to the Pulau Bayas duty-free site for $10,120,404 (RM33 million) along with completion of the development of several islands in the lake area. A $21,463,387 (RM70 million) building of a main jetty on Pulau Bayas is currently in progress, Ahmad says.
Starting September 2015, Tasik Kenyir will be the first duty-free lake in the world.
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