Gua Musang District

Gua Musang District
District of Malaysia

Flag
Country  Malaysia
State Kelantan Darul Naim
Seat Gua Musang
Government
 • District officer n/a
Area
 • Total 8,177 km2 (3,157 sq mi)
Population (2015)
 • Total 120,000
 • Density 15/km2 (38/sq mi)

Gua Musang (Chinese: 话望生) is a town, district and parliamentary constituency in southern Kelantan, Malaysia. It is the largest district in Kelantan. Gua Musang is administered by the Gua Musang District Council. Gua Musang district is bordered by the state of Pahang to the south, Terengganu to the east, Perak to the west and the Kelantanese districts of Kuala Krai and Jeli to the north. It is a small railway town about 140 km south of state capital Kota Bharu. Gua Musang is represented by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the Dewan Rakyat. The town lies on the railway line from Tumpat to Gemas.

The Lojing Autonomous Sub-District (Jajahan Kecil Lojing) is in the western part of Gua Musang constituency.

Geography

A view of downtown Gua Musang (January 2009).

Gua Musang literally means "Fox Cave". On the eastern side of this town stands Bukit Gua Musang, a barren hill of rocks and deceptive stone-steps running 105 metres high. It stands in a commanding position, with a huge cave running into its interior and is about metres away from the other green tree-covered hills. From a distance, this hill looks like a stone pillar with a big crack which nearly splits it vertically into two equal halves. Between the hill and the town, there runs a railway track.

Transport

Car

Two federal routes, 8 and 185 intersect near Gua Musang. Route 8 leads to the state administrative centre of Kota Bharu northwards; while route 185 connects Simpang Pulai near Ipoh in Perak in the west to Kuala Jenderis in Hulu Terengganu in Terengganu in the east.

Public transport

Gua Musang is served by the KTM Intercity Eastern Sector which runs between Tumpat (also in Kelantan) and Gemas in Negeri Sembilan.

Demographics

Gua Musang as of 2009, has a population of 100,400 people

Ranking Population Jajahan Gua Musang.

Rank Daerah/Mukim Population 2000
1 Galas 31,814
2 Chiku 26,251
3 Bertam 16,923

Politics

Gua Musang is represented in the Malaysian Parliament by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from UMNO. The parliamentary constituency in turn contributes 3 seats to the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly, namely Galas, Nenggiri and Paloh. All three seats were also held by UMNO.

Folklore

It was believed that long ago this town was inhabited by some superstitious hunters who made offerings of animals in front of the cave of Bukit Gua Musang. One afternoon a raging storm broke out and the huts of the hunters were destroyed. At the height of the storm a bolt of lightning struck the summit of the hill and nearly split it in two. The hunters, believing that the God of the Cave was angry with them, knelt down and began to pray. As they were praying they saw a huge pack of foxes (or musang in Malay) running into the cave. At once, they seized their bows and arrows and lay in wait for the foxes. They waited the whole evening but the foxes did not emerge, not even when the storm had stopped. From then on, the inhabitants called the cave Gua Musang.

A month after this strange event, seven young hunters climbed the hill but only one came back alive. He told the villagers that when he and his six companions were halfway up the hill, a length of stone staircase appeared before them. They climbed the staircase and upon reaching the summit they found a tree, under which, stood a bowl of pure water. The young men, with the exception of one, drank the water in the bowl to quench their thirst. Before the others could persuade him to drink, the bowl vanished. They grew afraid and quickly began to descend. Suddenly a blood-chilling cry was heard. The hunter turned quickly but it was too late! His six friends had disappeared from sight. He rushed down the slope but there was no sign of any dead bodies at the bottom of the hill.

He concluded that the "God of the Cave" had taken his friends and had spared him because he had not drunk the water in the bowl. Most of the villagers did not believe the young man's story. They were sure that the other six must have slipped and fallen, but the bodies of the missing hunters were never found.

Places of interest

Gua Musang is close to the northern gateway to Taman Negara (National Park), which is at Sg Relau near Merapoh in Pahang. The small village of Merapoh is just south of Gua Musang and serves as a popular starting point for those who want to scale Gunung Tahan. The untouched tropical rainforest in Taman Negara is among the oldest in the world. It is well known for its biodiversity and is home to many endangered species of animals and plants.

Gua Musang is surrounded by limestone hills and caves, which have become popular with cavers and rock climbers.

Another interesting place to visit in Gua Musang is a Buddhist temple in Pulai, which is purportedly 400 years old.

Nenggiri River is a favourite among those who enjoy river rafting. There is also a rafting race, called Nenggiri Challenge. Archaeological sites can be found in caves, such as Gua Cha, Chawan and Jaya, which are situated along the river.

Shopping

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gua Musang.
 Jeli
Hulu Perak		 Dabong
Kuala Krai		 Olak Jeram
Manek Urai
Lojing
Ipoh		 Chiku
Hulu Terengganu
   Gua Musang  
Cameron Highlands Merapoh
Kuala Lipis		 Kuala Tahan
Taman Negara


Coordinates: 4°53′N 101°58′E / 4.883°N 101.967°E / 4.883; 101.967

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.