Lak-ai: Taman Negara, National Park

River in Taman Negara.

Taman Negara means ‘national park’, and indeed this is not only the world‘s oldest rainforest, but also the oldest national park in Malaysia. Almost 4,500 sq. km (1550 sq. mi) are protected here, and the park spreads across the west Malaysian states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. The rainforest has a wealth of biodiversity, dominated by hardwood forest in the lower areas and cloud forest at the higher elevations. There are no roads, and the only way to see it is by trekking the forest trails or by boat on the rivers.

You need to get to Ulu Tembeling by road and continue your journey to Kuala Tahan by boat. There’s an old train station in Kuala Tembeling but the train never stop there anymore. The nearest train station that still functioning until today is at Jerantut railway station. There are also few busses available from the city of Kuala Lumpur.

The landscape of the jungle.

Some beautiful waterfall.

This rainforest is about 130 million years old, which means that while other parts of the planet were undergoing ice ages, this area’s climate is much as it was during the age of the dinosaurs. The ﬂora and fauna are superb — Sumatran rhinoceros, tigers, Asian elephants, sun bears, leopards and tapirs roam, and monkeys and birds chatter and call from the trees. South-east Asia’s tallest tree, the ‘tualang’, grows here and there are hides on the jungle paths, from where you may be lucky enough to see some of the wildlife.

In the north-west of the park is the formidable Gunung Tahan. Standing at 2,187 m (7,175 ft.) it is the highest mountain in west Malaysia. The most amazing experience in this forest is the canopy walkway — the longest in the world at 430 m (1,475 ft.), leading from tree to tree as high as 50 m (165 ft.) above ground. The view of plants and wildlife living at this height is extraordinary.