Kuala Tahan National Park (Taman Negara) is the oldest rainforest in the world, dating back 130 million years. The largest national park on peninsula Malaysia, it is home to many birds, insects and animals. Although it's a little tricky to get to, if you have time to spend a few days here, you won't be disappointed. Most tourists who visit the park buy a package deal from Kuala Lumpur including all meals, accommodation and a jam packed itinerary of activities. It is possible to just take the one way transport option and plan your trip yourself for a fraction of the cost. We made our own way with from KL to Jerantut (3 hours), then took the boat up the Trembeling river to Kuala Tahan (3 hours). The boat trip was an experience. Sitting low on the water, on the floor of a narrow boat with all the gear jammed in the front. Through the heat of the day, we travelled up the muddy river, seeing monkeys, eagles, buffalo and birds. Every time the boat rocked, we thought the bags might go overboard. Luckily, the daily torrential downpour waited until after we arrived safely in Kuala Tahan (with all our gear). Kuala Tahan is a rapidly growing hub with half a dozen floating pontoon restaurants on the river edge and a few places to stay up the hill. We stayed at the Mutiara Taman Negara which is the only accommodation right inside the national park. You just take the 1 Ringet boat across the river to the national park. Our cute cabin was around 5 minutes walk into the jungle. The smell of the rainforest was sublime. It was fun lying in bed at night trying to indentify the nocturnal noises. We saw plenty of monkeys, insects and a great hornbill. We had to watch out for snakes, scorpions and spiders, but mostly had been warned about leeches. We wore long socks, trousers and rubber soled shoes rubbed in salt and sprayed with deet. The Dutchman still managed to get 'leeched' on our last day wearing sandals down to the swimming hole. We trekked through the worlds longest canopy walkway, set high in the treetops. It was a fairly simple design, just rope sides, then ladders along the base with planks on top. An experience for the scrapbook! At the back of the resort were animal hides to spy on wildlife at dusk and dawn. It was genuinely serene, sitting in silence watching wild pigs and deer wandering through the clearing. Unfortunately, the Tapir eluded us throughout our stay. One night we took a jeep safari through plantations out of the national park. We were 5, sitting on the roof of a 4 wheel drive, on the open road, with just a 10cm barrier around us (OSH nightmare!). We did not to see very much, only a wild boar, a black leopard cub (in the distance) and an owl. Half way back to KL, we stopped in at the Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary. They aim to relocate the critically endangered Asian elephants from where their habitats are being destroyed by development. Most are re-homed into the Taman Negara, but there are 24 resident elephants who are unable to be released for a variety of reasons. They range in age from 2 to 79 years. Many had scars from bull hooks, giving you a glimpse into their previous life. It's nice to see them now in relative luxury, swimming in the river and being well fed on papaya and sugarcane. Our stay in the rainforest was amazing. We all loved being back in nature and have made a plan for more jungle action when we visit Borneo in June.
6 Comments
Becky
7/5/2017 08:42:46 am
What an awesome adventure! Elephants are my favorite animal, have and never will ride one but would love to visit a sanctuary one day.
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LizVH
7/5/2017 08:43:44 am
Amazing.. lying in bed listening to different calls... sounds thrilling! X
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Sarah
7/5/2017 09:04:17 am
Loving all your blog updates 👍😊 we've been back in nz from SG for 2 weeks now and seeing your photos and videos making me miss that heat and the food! I must say... H watched G7's snail bday dinner video and loved seeing his well known whole-body reaction to excitement with fists tucked under chin 😊 miss u guys x
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Ange
7/5/2017 12:18:19 pm
Sounds awesome!! What a fun experience x
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Ruth Seeman
3/7/2017 12:57:16 pm
Following your travels with interest! Looks fantastic
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strikingthebalance
3/7/2017 01:23:13 pm
thanks for following Ruth! Hope you're enjoying 'Bodywise' as much as I did! If you're interseted in getting to the jungle...check out my latest post on Sandakan, Malaysia!
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