Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village (KECV) — Attraction in Terengganu

Tucked deep within the rainforest near Kenyir Lake, the Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village feels less like a sanctuary and more like a luxury retreat for elephants who’ve retired from jungle life. Spread across 256 hectares of lush terrain, it’s a place where nature, mist, and gentle giants coexist in tranquil rhythm.

Here, elephants roam, bathe, and occasionally redecorate the landscape with impressive enthusiasm. Mahouts tend to them with quiet care, scrubbing, feeding, and chatting as if they’re old friends.. which, in a way, they are. Watching these moments up close is oddly grounding, like nature reminding you who the original locals were.

The surrounding serenity is unmistakably Kenyir.. pristine rainforest wrapping the hills, hornbills soaring across the canopy, and the occasional trumpet echoing through the valley. The suspension bridge gives a breathtaking view of the jungle below, where the rhythm of streams and elephant calls blend into something that feels ancient yet deeply peaceful.

KECV was established to protect and rehabilitate elephants displaced by development, offering medical care, space, and more mud baths than any...

Canopy walk by itself has made the ticket prices worth the RM25.00 (adult) & RM12.00 (children). Nature at its best! Can see lots of hardwood e.g. meranti, cengal, merbau etc & also abundance of palas (licuala palm) along/under the canopy walk (approx. 1KM in length & approx. 100m in height). There were 17 elephants on 01 March 2023, but we only saw 12 (other 5 were kept in their huts/enclosure).

Please note that this place is 10x better than a zoo as the elephants are roaming freely most of the time (with their mahouts, none were using sticks or the sharp goad, didn't see mahouts whacking/beating the elephants). When we were there, only 1 young bull was chained to the tree because his mahout was on leave. Other elephants were walking freely, taking bath in the river, being fed etc.

You'll see lots of negative comments about this place by righteous Mat Sallehs in Trip Advisor. Mostly saying the elephants are under duress, stressed up, being chained, beaten up etc. Well, they know the 'best' as they have plenty of 'happy' elephants in their zoos 🤭

Worth the visit, suitable for children, will definitely...

During out visit we were absolutely shocked. While the park is definitely beautiful because of its nature and interesting "canopee walk" (hanging tow bridges), the experiences with the elephants were horendous. When we arrived we saw 2 elephants, which looked beautifull for the time being, but after a couple of minutes we realised they were chained and could only move for about 2 meters (which is in my opinion absoluty insane when there is so much space). The bathing was ridiculous , because of the fact that everything that the animals did was trained and even when they didnt do their "act" right away the supervisors beat them with sharp sticks. The other elephants are locked in insanely small cages and chained all over the park. During the feeding time they only show 2 elephants and hurry you to feed them. The supervisors are definitely doing everything for the photos The way these People treat these originally wild animals is actually sickmaking. Definitely not an must visit. In my opinion this park has lots of potential if they change their animal treatment and let them wander...