Taman Negara Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It has been around for 130 million years, which means the forest, once upon a time, used to accommodate dinosaurs. Spanning over a 4343 sq. km, Taman Negara is one of Malaysia’s premier and the most popular tourist destinations.

According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the tropical rainforest attracts between 80,000 and 100,000 tourists each year (http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/taman-negara-on-the-comeback-trail/ ). 

It is popular for its vast offering of ecological and geographical attractions. This mostly includes wildlife spotting and extraordinary walking trails. You can do various things, such as canopy walks, jungle trekking, canoeing, etc.

About Taman Negara Rainforest: The Oldest Deciduous Rainforest in the World

Taman Negara Rainforest is a part of Taman Negara National Park, in Peninsular Malaysia. It is a famous ecological tourism destination in the world, and the closest city is Kuala Tembeling in Jerantut District in Pahang.

How to Reach

The Taman Negara National Park, the national park where the rainforest is situated, spans across Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu States. Thus, you can get to the rainforest through various trials, but people prefer entering it through the southern Kuala Tahan entrance.

You see, it is not only about which way you use to visit the rainforest, but also about which direction you start your expedition. The Kuala Tahan entrance tends to offer better trails and mesmerizing forest views including wildlife.

Transportation to Reach to Taman Negara Rainforest

The first thing to remember is that a visit to Taman Negara Rainforest lasts more than a day. In most cases, you can expect a six to eight hours journey from Kuala Lumpur. After that, you can anticipate staying in the forest for at least one night. 

Anyway, there is nothing to worry about, because accommodation is not difficult. Furthermore, many tourists also prefer night time expedition, which might actually be more fun than in the day.

Forms of Transportation

You do have multiple options for transportation, even if some of them are not direct from Kuala Lumpur. Anyway, all of them are easily accessible and of course, fun.

You can get to Taman Negara National Park (rainforest) through bus, train, and longboat. In most cases, you will end up getting on and off these transportations depending on your starting position and the experience you want to have.

Bus

You can get express buses from Kuala Lumpur to Jerantut. They depart from the Titiwangsa’s Perkeliling Bus Terminal.

After reaching the Jerantut bus terminal, you can directly take a bus to the Kuhan Tahan village. By the way, the ride lasts for about one and a half-hour. On the other hand, you can opt for a bus to the Kuala Tembeling port and sail the ferry to Kuala Tahan.

Point to Remember: Every city doesn’t have a direct bus connection to Jerantut. If you are confused once in Malaysia, you can either ask your hotel or your travel agency, and they can help you with the directions to the closest place from where you can get a bus.

Train

The express rail and the KTM from Kuala Lumpur have a stop in Jerantut. After reaching Jerantut, you do the same thing that you would do on a bus; either find the bus terminal and hop on a bus to Kuhana Tahan village or take a bus to Kuala Tembeling and then ride a ferry.

The nearest bus terminal to the Jerantut train station is the Terminal Sentral Jerantut, which is just a kilometer away. It is about four to five minutes in a taxi.

Well, to get to the Jerantut train station, you can get a KTM train from any station in the JB Sentral – Tumpat – JB Segamat route.

Ferry

Often called the ‘longboat,’ it is more of a creaky wooden boat that steadily carries you on the Tahan river as you treat your eyes with amazing sceneries with water buffaloes, long-tailed macaques, and the tropical Malaysian backdrop.

Also, as we said twice before, the boat ride stats from Kuala Tembeling ferry port, which is about a 30-minute bus (18 kilometers) ride from Jerantut.

Some tips and important Information while taking a Transportation to Taman Negara Rainforest

• If you are short on time, you can take a bus to Kuhan Tahang village. Take the ferry the way back, as this will ensure you will spend most of the time on Taman Negara.
• Keep in mind the weather- the ferry might not be available in winter or on times when there isn’t a lot of rainfall.
• Some travel companies provide packages to Taman Negara Rainforest. They will take care of everything including transportation and accommodation, with you having to pay them a fixed price. This is the best option for you if you are looking forward to a hassle-free journey.

Where to Stay in Taman Negara Rainforest?

Being an evergreen tourist destination, there are plenty of options for backpackers and travelers for accommodation.

You will find various hostels, guest houses, and air-conditioned hotel rooms in Jerantut town and Kuala Tahan village. Of course, there is one for every kind of budget.

The most popular and maybe the most luxurious place to stay would be at Mutiara Resort in the village. Anyway, you need to book a room in advance here. In other cases, too, we recommend you choose your accommodation and contact them before arriving.

Well, even if you can get rooms only after searching after arriving, this could be difficult during public holidays and such. And we all know, being a hundred percent sure makes a tour more fun.

What to Take With You?

 The high season in Taman Negara Rainforest is July to September. The rainforest is the wettest between November and January.

Well, Taman Negara is hot and wet most of the time, so you should take waterproof light clothes. Add on this your best pair of waterproof and comfortable hiking shoes. Ointment against mosquitoes is a must and a sunscreen lotion will make the trip easier on your skin. You should wear long sleeves covering almost all parts of your body.

Also, serpents say hello! Try your best not to disturb their day to day lives and learn precautions.

One thing to remember is that both Jerantut and Kuhan Tahan are conservative places. Finding alcohol won’t be easy and it is highly advisable that you don’t wear ‘revealing’ clothes. This also applies to swimsuits; buy ones that cover most of your body.

Flora and Fauna in Taman Negara Rainforest

With the favorable climate and the ecosystem, hundreds of thousands of plants and animals have made a home in the Taman Negara Rainforest. You will find animals, plants, birds, fishes, and insects of all sorts.

Animals

There are more than 200 species of mammals in the rainforest. They include Tiger, Elephant, Sumatran Rhinos, Gaur (Indian Bison), Water Buffalo, Malaysian Tapir, leopards, sun bear, Macaques, and many more. Of course, the rarity of sight depends on these animals’ biological behavior and habitat. For example, tigers prefer living in deep forests and camouflaging themselves and thus, many won’t see them.

 Don’t forget snakes- there are about 100 types of serpents here.

Birds

There are about 479 species of birds in the Taman Negara rainforest. While some of them are seen pretty much everywhere on the trip, some will take a lot of time and luck to discover. Some popular birds are the Hornbill, Woodpecker, Putta, Malaysian Peacock, Malaysian Rail-babbler, Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Gould’s Frogmouth, Large Frogmouth, etc.

Insects

There are about 150,000 species of insects in Taman Negara National Park. This includes leeches and mosquitoes too, so you need to bring an insect repellant, as said before. Others include around a thousand species of butterflies. Some insects here are species of ants, arctiid moth, assassin bug, common clubtail dragonflies, etc.

Plants

There are at least 280 tree species per hectare in Taman Negara national park. The most common tree is the Tualang tree and other species are Merbay, Meranti Tembaga, Damar Hitam Siput, etc. To be honest, most people are interested in the fauna than the flora, anyway, with the flowers (including the rafflesia) and trees, the place has more than enough to intrigue ones who are here for the latter.

Want to be a little more fascinated about the trees? Put this on your mind- some trunks of dead trees in the region could actually be millions of years old.

Things to Check out at Taman Negara Rainforest

You can do various things on the Taman Negara Rainforest. We list some of the popular activities:

Rainforest trekking expeditions

The rainforest is a paradise for trekkers. A popular expedition includes the Guatelinga (Ear Cave) travel, which is a 30 minutes’ walk away from the riverbank if the Pengkalan Gua. The length of the cave itself is only 80 meters, but there are narrow ends and some difficult stretches. Anyway, most travelers can complete it without any difficulty.

Others include the longest canopy walkway in the world (500 meters consisting of 10 bridge sections), Teresek hill climb, Lubuk Simpon, among others.

Final words

The incredible Teman Negara rainforest has always been the home to thousands of species of nature. To say at the least, it is one of the places that nature romantics must visit once in their lives.

You have a lot of things to do and see, and at the same time, traveling to the place has been made very convenient, which has made it one of the most popular ecological tourist destinations in the world. If you decide to visit the rainforest, coming back from it, you will have a lot of unique experiences to share and precious memories to cherish.

About Taman Negara National Park

A dwelling space of more than 15,000 plant species, 675 bird species, 250 freshwater species, and so much more, terming it to be diverse is an understatement.

Not only is it the oldest, but it is also the largest in the whole of Malaysia; its wings spread to a mammoth 4343 square kilometres.

Visit it for its unmatched flora and fauna or to get the hang of the original inhabitants of Malaysia, the Orang Asli tribe. You get to walk on the longest canopy walkway, experience trekking under the rainforest canopy, fishing, camping, observing wildlife, and so much more.

In this article, we will pen down the top 10 things that you can do in Taman Negara National Park. Let’s get started.

How old is Taman Negara rainforest?

The forest is said to be more than 130 million years old. It was first established as a rainforest in the year 1925 under the name ‘Gunung Tahan Game Reserve’. It soon became the first-ever official national park in Malaysia and was renamed ‘King George V National Park’. It was only after independence in 1957 that the park received its name that we address it today.

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Getting there and around

There are four departure points where you can start your trip from Taman Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Sungai Relau, and Jerantut. To be practical, you cannot expect it to be a one-day trip. You can scale Mount Tahan if you want to take the Sungai Relau route or if you prefer the bus route, Jerantut is the one you should opt for.

How to go to Taman Negara from Kuala Lumpur?

If you are starting from Kuala Lumpur, head over to the Titiwangsa’s Parkeliling Bus Terminal and take a bus to Jerantut, after that, take a bus to Kuala Tahan (the launch place for Taman Negara) from Jerantut Bus Terminal. If it is unavailable, take a bus to Kuala Tembeling port and then take a ferry to reach Kuala Tahan.

Park entry and fees

If you are going to the rainforest, it is safe to assume that you will need a parking space for the rented or the owned car. Following is the parking cost range that can be expected while you’re here.

• For those who reach Kuala Tahan, the parking costs range from RM5 (Malaysian Ringgit) for a car to RM10 for a bus.
• After reaching Kuala Tahan, you will board a boat whose fare is RM1 to the opposite bank where the park entrance and Mutiara Resort resides.
• After that, you will need a permit for entering the park which costs RM1 per person along with RM5 for camera and video-making.

Once you enter the park, there are several adventures that you can embark on, each of which has its charges ranging up to RM160 per person per activity.

Accommodation at Taman Negara National Park

If you haven’t booked your dwelling place in advance, it might need a serious level of effort for you to find a shed for the night in Kuala Tahan. So make sure you pre-book before you head over to the rainforest.

On the brighter side, there is a lot of budget-friendly lodging that you can find for your comfort.

Needless to mention, there are several luxury resorts that you can book as well. For those looking for absolute luxury, you can choose the Mutiara Resorts, where they have various bungalows/chalet-style rooms or dormitory or camp.

If you are looking for some adventure or close-to-the-nature experience, you will find several nature-spotting hides. Make sure to pack your food, water and some bedding for yourself.

Top 10 things to do in Taman Negara National Park

Here are the top 10 things you must try at the Taman Negara National Park –

1. Canopy Walk

Initially built for research purposes, it surprisingly turned out to be the main attraction for both local and international tourists alike. You need to visit and see it once to understand the visual treat that it is and why it gains so much attraction.

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It is the world’s longest canopy walkway, being 530 meters long and 40 meters above the ground level. The panoramic view from the canopy is breathtaking, and it almost feels like a dream. All said and done; you need to visit it once in a lifetime to cherish.

2. Climb Gunung Tahan

Gunung Tahan is the longest of the treks in Taman Negara, and the mountain is around 53 kilometres from the central park headquarters in Kuala Tahan (also known as Tenor Trail). The word ‘Tahan’ means to endure, and it is one hell of a challenging ride.

Another and the shorter route is 32 kilometres which start from Sungai Relau. Be careful and take the lead along as you may encounter leeches, torrential rains, monkeys, poisonous snakes, tigers, and what not!

3. Have a meal at Mutiara Restaurant

Even though it may sound a bit weird, big western-style breakfast at Mutiara Restaurant is a perfect starter for your journey to Taman Negara. The smorgasbord consists of salads, burgers, pizzas, and much more for you to feast along with beer and other local drinks.

There is also a special menu for the young trekkers, which presents equally delightful dishes for the kids.

4. Hiking to Bukit Teresek

If you are a trekker, it is one of the best places to trek. There are several locations, and Bukit Teresek is a sight to behold. The duration of the hike is around 30 to 45 minutes with the peak height soaring to 334 meters. Get yourself buckled up and go in for a ride for approximately 1.7 kilometres and delve in flora and fauna to complete your visual ecstasy.

5. Visiting the Orang Asli tribe

Orang Asli or the Kampung Orang Asli are the original people of Malaysia. They consist of two groups, the Semokberis and the Bateks. You can talk to them to know their long enriched history and how their ancestors blew pipes to hunt and made the fire.

6. Shoot the Rapids

Get ready to go all wet while you enjoy your days. Rapid shooting is one of the many unforgettable experiences that you can embark on while being in the rainforest. You can start from either Kuala Tahan or Kuala Terengganu and go all the way to Sungai Tembeling which is the main tributary of the Pahang River.

Imagine sitting in a wooden boat with a plethora of thick trees all beholding your site on either side of the river! You certainly don’t want to miss it.

7. Explore the caves

Taman Negara is a concoction of extravagant natural sites, and the caves form a part of it. One of the most popular ones is Gua Telinga which is 3 kilometres away from Wildlife Headquarters.

Crawl through an underground tunnel which is home to various amphibians, bats, and all the insects inside. If you are looking for more caving opportunities, you can go for Gua Kepayang Kecil and Kepayang Besar.

8. Watching the birds

Home to more than 675 bird species, It is undoubtedly the best place to bird watch in Peninsular Malaysia. While hovering through the forest, you can get a glimpse of the Rhinoceros Hornbill, Asian Fairy Bluebird, and the Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, and many other rare species.

9. Walk the jungles in the night

There is no better sight than a night walking safari around a forest, and you can experience it as well in the Taman Negara National Park. Dive into the wilderness while listening to various animals making their presence felt.

The guide will take you to the hiding spots where you can spot animals like deer, wild boars, tapirs, and many more. Experience them living through their day-to-day life as close as possible.

10. Feed the fishes at Kelah Sanctuary

If you are planning to grab a view of Lake Berkoh, make sure to halt at the Kelah Sanctuary. It is located at Lubuk Tenor on the Sungai Tahan river and homes the kelah fish, The Red Mahseer. Make sure to grab a handful of pellets and feed the fishes to bring them closer to you, so you get to enjoy the scintillating view that they encase.

To avoid disappointment, travelers are advised to book in advance for activities alone or packages that has include some of the above top 10 things to do

Wrapping up

Words cannot explain what you can experience from the time you land on the Taman Negara and to the point you leave it. It is a visual treat presented with such grace that you feel that you are witnessing heaven.