Taman Negara, Pahang and Top 5 Recommended Activities to Do Here:
Lush jungle as ancient as the age of dinosaurs, Taman Negara Forest Park is Malaysia’s 130-million-year-old national park housing both the world’s longest canopy walk and the grand Mount Tahan which is the West Malaysia’s tallest peak. This national park is the largest and best protected conservation area, spanning across three states in the center of Peninsular Malaysia which are Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. Covering officially 4343 square kilometers in size, the park is an absolute biodiversity hotspot with more than 150 species of mammals including the rare Malayan tigers and Asian elephants and also the home to 3,000 species of plants and flowers, with innumerable types of insects you could ever ask for!
Without further ado, let’s get straight into top things to do in this legendary Taman Negara!
Canopy Walk
The main attraction or real highlight is Taman Negara’s Canopy Walk, which holds the title as the world’s longest ropewalk, a series of suspended bridges built 40 -50 meters above the ground and stretching 1,640 feet and above the forest floor. Admission is only RM5 or $1.20 USD where you can purchase at the ticket office at the foot of the canopy. Provides a unique perspective of the rainforest from above, there will be canopy observation huts in the treetops allow you to spy on various unique wildlife from elephants to slow loris, also birds like the majestic rhino hornbill as well as monkeys. For the floras and faunas you are seeing, there will be regular information boards explain the such as while. For those who are travelling independently try to get there as early as possible before the park get crowded with the arrival of tourists from Kuala Lumpur. As safety precautions, visitors must keep a 5 metre distance between each other when acrossing several shaky bridges and the Canopy Walk may not open in wet and windy conditions.
Visiting Orang Asli in Taman Negara
Another notable aspect of visiting Taman Negara is visiting the Orang Asli, or “original people.” The indigenous people of this area actually refer to themselves as the Batek, a nomadic tribe who still largely survive by hunting and gathering. Although their population numbers are low– just a few thousand– they are very much present along the banks of Tremeling River. Their diet is of course, way much healthier and better than us, consists of fruits from the jungle, yams, fish and small animals such as monkeys and squirrels, which they hunt with blowpipes and poison darts. In case any traveler is worried about whether their hunting tools usage are illegal or not, wipe out your worries because the Bateks already have an agreement with the Malaysian government to allow them to continue using the park area as their hunting spot as they have for centuries.
Hiking Gunung Tahan
Located in the heart of Taman Negara at 2187 meters, Gunung Tahan which is translates from Bahasa Malaysia to mean Mount Endure is hinted at all of us about the effort required to climb this peak. Considered as the most difficult summit in all of Malaysia, it is also the highest mountain on the Malayan peninsula that usually takes visitors about seven days and six nights of jungle trekking to complete. Expect to encounter blood-sucking leeches, torrential rains, and even the passing of monkeys, poisonous snakes, tapirs, wild elephants, and tigers! Living up its name as the hardest mountain to climb West Malaysia, you will definitely have to ford several rivers as well as climb very steep rooted paths on your way up to the peak.
Taman Negara Boat Cruise to Lata Berkah
Lata Berkoh is one of the “must-visits” in this famous Pahang’s national park, a rocky cascade with a lot of sharp angled sedimentary rocks, which characterize the underlying geology of large areas of Taman Negara. It’s The cruise that takes place on the Sungai Tahan River will take you upstream where you can indulge yourself in the beauty of the flora and fauna here as you cleave through the middle of the gorgeous rainforest. Since Malaysia is known to be a state with a hot and humid weather all year around, so if you think you cannot stand the hot environment here, especially while visiting Taman Negara, then Lata Berkoh is totally the perfect spot to cool off in the icy cold waters. Thinking about taking as many photographs as you can at one of the prettiest spots in Taman Negara? Then do not forget to bring along your cameras as you can alight from the boat at the upstream and then take photographs in the pristine jungle before heading back for the cruise downstream.
Night Walk in Taman Negara
If you want to see the nocturnal creatures who are on the other side of the jungle comes alive, then Night Jungle Walk is the best way for you to observe and discover them. You can choose to trek the huge rainforest with package that includes tour guides or you can also rent a hide – out to spot even more rare animals. Once you are at the hide you can wait for the nocturnal animals to come out and use the salt lick which is provided in order to restore the nutrients of the fauna here. Quick warning is to be as quite as you can, so that you do not scared the creatures away.
There is actually a lot more fun and exciting activities at Taman Negara, Pahang but hands – on experience is better than only reading this entry, right? You can easily get there by either bus or car and enjoy your adventure, nature devotees!
Conclusion
There you have it! You have now knowledge top 5 best things to do in Taman Negara, Pahang. This forest park is such great places to visit especially on your holidays or vacations, but it is important to know what you can do at the location, along with the rules, and what to expect. Because only then you can make a checklist on places to visit and things to do to fully enjoy your visit in Kuala Lumpur. Once all that is said and done, don’t forget to get travel insurance, AXA Smart Traveller is offering travel insurance from the price of only RM 13/trip, visit https://products.policystreet.com/axa/smarttraveller/overview for more information NOW!