Asia’s least known world heritage site

MARCO FERRARESE reveals a green gem in Malaysia

From Siem Reap in Cambodia to Hoi An in Vietnam, Luang Prabang in Laos and George Town on the Malaysian island of Penang, UNESCO World Heritage inscriptions have transformed some cities into tourism success stories.

But the Lenggong Valley, Malaysia’s fourth UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Perak state, is an exception. On June 30, 2022, the town celebrated 10 years since UNESCO nominated it, recognising the importance of its archaeological sites. But even after a decade, neglect and lack of co­ordination still hinder the Lenggong Valley.

“Foreigners were surprised to see that a UNESCO site could be so underdeveloped,” says Lenggong native Ng Hock Sen, a local councillor from 2013 to 2017 and the owner of four­storey Soon Lee Hotel — the tallest building in his one­horse tropical home town. Ng campaigned for years to promote Lenggong to tourists, most often chaperoning them around the sites in his own car to get around the chronic lack of transportation.

I was one of them. Back in 2015, curious to visit this UNESCO site, I stepped on Lenggong’s diminutive main road, but there was no signage or any trace of visitor information. Ng approached me kerbside and insisted on helping me see everything worth knowing.

“Nothing much has changed since the listing. The people in charge launch initiatives that are disconnected from the actual needs on the ground,” says Adrian Abu Bakar, who moved from Kuala Lumpur to Lenggong a few years ago and has tried to develop agro­tourism ever since. “(Local) tourism operators continue to work in silos and Lenggong remains one of the best potentials in the region, but is surrounded by obstacles for tourists to actually visit.”

The small town of Lenggong doesn’t look like much at first sight. On Interstate 76 between the towns of Kuala Kangsar and Gerik, it’s a concrete and corrugated iron scar in a lush valley encased by two mountain ranges: the Titiwangsa in the east and the lower Bintang in the west. Strategically set on the Perak River, Lenggong was once a part of the 19th century semi­independent Patani­Siamese kingdom of Reman, but the valley around today’s town has a much older historical significance.

Carved into the Earth by a meteorite impact 1.83 million years ago, the Lenggong Valley boasts four main archaeological sites scattered in two clusters to the north and south­west of town. They span close to two million years, with cultural remains from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze ages testifying to one of ancient humankind’s longest settlements in a single locality — the oldest outside the African continent.

The south­western cluster includes several open­air sites, like Bukit Bunuh, the 3.45km­wide meteorite crater that today lies in a palm oil plantation. The rare suevite rocks that formed here from the collision revealed embedded traces of some of the oldest hand axes found outside Africa. Lenggong’s northern archaeological cluster groups more than 20 caves that pierce the Bukit Kepala Gajah limestone massif. The most famous are Gua Gunung Runtuh, where in 1990 a team led by Professor Zuraina Majid unearthed the remains of 10,120­year­old Perak Man, and the burial cave Gua Harimau, with another 13 younger skeletons found between 1987 and 1995.

Perak Man is the oldest, most complete human skeleton ever found in South­East Asia. Born with brachymesophalangia type A2 — a very rare congenital condition that causes shortened and abnormally angled middle bones in the fingers — Perak Man was found in the foetal position,

Natural Beauty

FROM PAGE13 surrounded by hundreds of shells and other artefacts, leading archaeologists to assume he was worshipped as a disabled shaman.

The ancient skeleton was returned to Lenggong from Kuala Lumpur’s National Museum of Malaysia in October 2013, becoming the centrepiece of the Lenggong Archaeological Museum in Kota Tampan. Located 8km away from the township, the museum sits next to an ancient stone workshop.

Looking into the crevasses and cracks of Perak Man’s faceless skull, however, has never been an easy task. Not only is there no public transport, but the museum is again closed after two years of renovations and a short spell in 2020 when national borders were shut. Even the cave sites had been fenced off to avoid vandalism well before my first visit seven years ago, and require authorised local guides — once provided free of charge by the museum, the guides now offer freelance services.

Despite intermittent funding and concerning coverage in the local media, improvements to the caves and other open­air sites are rare. The wooden pathway that leads visitors around the Bukit Kepala Gajah cave complex only covers the first section between Gua Kajang — a burial cave first excavated in 1917 by British ethnographer and anthropologist Ivor Hugh Norman Evans — and Gua Asar. Supporting cement poles are stuck at the side of the remaining slippery jungle stretch to Gua Puteri — a large cave — and the fork to Gua Ngaum, a human dwelling dating back 7000­8000 years. The caves are unlit and surrounded by overgrown vegetation.

Throughout the years many have blamed the lacklustre upkeep of the sites on jurisdiction problems between Malaysia’s Federal and the Perak government, which manage different parts of Lenggong’s heritage area. But local villagers also lack understanding and appreciation for the UNESCO title, and after waiting in vain for the town’s economy to bloom, started fuelling the rubbish piles that rise next to broken boardwalks and rotting signboards. Tourist operators resist, but the cake is too small and competition is high.

“The concerned agencies must work together and eliminate any overlapping or grey areas,” says Nasir Jalaludin, a Lenggong native who returned to the valley after working abroad in the hotel industry. “Basic infrastructure is needed, such as better mobile data coverage, accessibility via public transport, and a sufficient offer of good­quality accommodation for guests to stay overnight.”

In May 2019, Nasir launched Rumah Tiang 16, Lenggong’s first and only boutique­style accommodation, from his family’s traditional Malay house made of chengal and meranti wood, and has become a staunch advocate of the area’s many attractions. His tailor­made three­day/two­night program includes visits to Lenggong’s archaeological sites, cultural and food experiences in the valley’s Patani Malay villages, and sunset boat rides onCenderoh Lake to the south of town. He also campaigns for teaching locals to become hosts and guides.

Besides UNESCO mishaps, Lenggong may not have played all its cards yet. In December 2021 the valley was declared a national geopark, for which new signage was fixed at most points of interest. But beyond that and making a “Lenggong Fun Map” for tourists in the Malay language, the new title was not promoted enough to lure more visitors.

More hope came in April 2022 when Penang­based consultancy and project delivery partner Think City launched the RM10 million ($2.3m) allocation Cultural Economy Catalytic Grants program, focusing on the heritage protection of Lenggong and two other nearby towns in northern Perak, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping.

The second cycle of grants opened in August but, after 10 years, locals walk with leaden feet. “We hope that this new collaboration will finally help visitors stay longer and appreciate Lenggong’s forlorn heritage and history,” Ng says.