Where the Jungle Activities Begin

We arrived at Kuala Tahan close to 4 in the evening. The boatman dropped us off at a floating restaurant (on Tembeling River) and we made our way up a sandy slope to our accommodation, the Ekotone Chalet.

Ekotone Chalet is located across the bank of the Taman Negara area. In fact you will be able to find a lot of economical accommodations on this side of the bank if you are unable to afford the luxury chalets at the Mutiara Resort. Mutiara Resort is the only accommodation that is located in the Taman Negara area along with the Park Headquarters and Customer Service Station.

The Jungle Night Walk

Earlier when we arrived we signed up for the Jungle Night Walk. So at about half past seven we made out way to the LBK floating restaurant for dinner. At 8.30pm, our guide called out for our group to take the river taxi (small motor boat) across the river to the Taman Negara area.

The jungle night walk is a good way to experience night life in the rainforest when the nocturnal animals come out to feed. It's not an activity to see big animals but rather small ones like insects, spiders, scorpions, snakes and many others.

The walk starts at an entry point into the jungle where the Mutiara Resort boundary ends. Armed with only our torches about a dozen of us walked into the jungle following a wide path while being led by our experienced guide. Our first spot was a black poisonous scorpion hiding inside a rotting fallen tree. Then we were shown web-less spiders hiding out at a clump of bamboos waiting for their prey.

We also got a chance to not only see but to inspect a stick insect up-close which our guide picked up from a leaf. However I was most impressed with the sighting of 3 non-venomous Green Whipped Snakes coiled round each other like a spaghetti on a plate, actually a low tree branch. The night walk ends with a visit to the Tahan Hide (located within the proximity of the Mutiara Resort) which faces a natural salt lick. Animals normally come out at night to take a sip at salt licks. We were quite lucky as we managed to catch a glimpse of a Sambar Deer.

 

Treks with a View

The next morning after breakfast we joined another guided tour to Bukit Teresek (334m/1096ft) and the Canopy Walk. The trek starts off at the same entry point of the jungle night walk. Our first destination was to Bukit Teresek which is about 2km away from the Kuala Tahan/Mutiara Resort. The trail starts off fairly easy for the first 500m and then changes to a steep climb of 1.5km to the summit. The climb up normally takes about 45 minutes to an hour on uneven natural soil and mud steps carved out by previous climbers and guides. Park authorities have built wooden stairs along certain sections to enable easy climbing for visitor.

Upon reaching the top you will discover two look-out points on Bukit Teresek one facing each side of the ridge. If you wish to spot Gunung Tahan, the highest peak in Peninsular Malaysia then you must make your way up the higher lookout point which is another 10 minutes walk.

However you will only be able to see Gunung Tahan on a clear day. I was not so lucky as Gunung Tahan was still covered by the morning mist. Nonetheless I was rewarded with an amazing view of lush green mountains and also a glimpse of the Tahan River far below.

As we made our way downhill there was a slight commotion halfway through. One of the guides spotted a red tail viper about 2 feet in length perched on a tree branch within arms-length of our path. It became a photo-frenzied session and everyone who passed by had a good look at the poisonous snake in its' natural setting.

Soon we reached the entrance of the Canopy Walk which is a series of suspended bridges built 40 -50 metres above the ground. It is the world's longest canopy walkway (500m) that provides a unique perspective of the rainforest from above. We had a rather long wait until our turn because only a few people were allowed to cross at a time. As a safety precaution we had to keep a 5 metre distance between each other as we made our way across several shaky bridges. While on the bridge do look out for wildlife such as birds like the majestic rhino hornbill and also monkeys. And if you look down you will also notice the various heights of the different trees that make up the rainforest.

Caving

almost like going through the ear's canal...tight in places, snug in others, wide in some areas. be prepared to get dirty...

Our second activity of the day was Gua Telinga, the Ear Cave. We took a short boat ride downstream Tembeling River to the little jetty of Pengkalan Gua and made arrangements with the boatman to pick us up two hours later. The jungle trail that led us to the limestone cave is wide and well defined and it only took us 20 minutes to arrive at Gua Telinga.

The entrance of the cave is small and looked somewhat menacing with jagged edge stones greeting you as we crawled in.

The cave slowly opens up to a bigger cabin where colonies of Dusky Fruit Bats were seen on the cave ceiling. Our skillful guide managed to spot a baby Cave Racer Snake which was hiding in between crevices.

 

Cave Racers live in caves and feed mainly on bats and other living creatures in there. There are a few difficult sections in the cave that required some crawling and you may also need to squeeze through some narrow gaps. Otherwise the cave is a very manageable activity and an interesting one as well.

If you are a keen caver there are bigger caves to be explored further up the Tembeling River at Kuala Keniam accessible by boat or foot.

 

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