# One of the World's Oldest Rainforests Is Waiting for You in Malaysia > Discover one of the planet's oldest rainforests: the emerald waters of Lake Temengor, dense walls of jungle and the wild trails of Malaysia. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/naystarishykh-u-sviti-tropichnykh-lisiv/ - Language: en - Published: 2023-10-12 - Categories: Hiking, Animals, Tours, Malaysia, Forests, National Parks --- In the tropical morning light, Malaysia's Lake Temengor is a glassy sheet of emerald green, deepened by the thick walls of rainforest that surround it. Skimming across the water in a speedboat, we pass a group of indigenous, or orang asli ("original people"), boys playing on a bamboo raft among the deadwood that rises like silhouettes above the surface of the lake. It is a strange, picturesque sight, like the remains of a vanished world, made all the more striking by the highway that cuts across the lake. This body of water is part of Belum-Temengor, a cluster of forest reserves in the Malaysian state of Perak that covers an area more than four times the size of neighbouring Singapore. These rainforests are estimated to be more than 130 million years old, dating back to a time when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. They are older even than their counterparts in the Amazon or the Congo. The fact that Lake Temengor is a more recent creation does nothing to diminish its natural beauty. In the 1970s, the damming of a river turned these hills into mini-islands, such as Banding, which makes a convenient launch pad for exploring the area. We stayed at the Belum Rainforest Resort on Banding Island, which includes a one-day tour into the truly pristine stretch of the Belum-Temengor forest. In 2007 it was declared the Royal Belum State Park, and logging is banned here. This park, set close to the border with Thailand, is a great alternative if you can't make it to the jungles of Borneo or simply want to venture off the beaten track on this side of Malaysia. It is home to around 1,000 indigenous Jahai people and endangered animals such as the Malayan tiger, whose numbers in the country range from 250 to 340 individuals and which is now the focus of WWF Malaysia's attention. To enter the park you need a permit and a licensed guide, and the only way in is to head north along the lake's waterways. ## Visiting the Jahai Indigenous Villages From the resort's private jetty to the mouth of the Sungai Perak, which flows through Royal Belum State Park and branches into smaller rivers, it is a 30-minute boat ride. Our first stop is Sungai Gadong to see the rafflesia flower. Believed to be the largest flower in the world, it can grow up to a metre wide and give off a stench reminiscent of rotting flesh. But catching this spectacle takes a bit of luck. ![](/storage/image/prev/Malazia-2-Reinfor-1024x813.jpg) "It takes nine months to mature and blooms for just five to seven days before dying," says our guide, Hafizul Harun. We see only one clenched orange bud the size of a volleyball among the blackened rafflesia carcasses. Next we arrive at a Jahai village in the Sungai Kejar area, where eight families live in thatched huts and a generator powers televisions and other modern needs. Hafizul points to a long rod lying in a boat on the shore. "It's a blowpipe, but unlike the traditional ones it is encased in a steel sheath to protect the bamboo. The Jahai use it to hunt small animals such as squirrels or birds," he says. After Kerjik Renjak, the 45-year-old village head, allowed us to enter his village, he invited us to sit on the steps of his hut and chat, while the women and children clustered together, exchanging the occasional word, and a monkey dangled playfully from a tree. He tells us about some of the joys of life here (he loves listening to the sounds the deer make) and about some of the hardships. "The number of fish in the lake has dropped because of amateur fishing, and when we grow crops, the elephants sometimes destroy them," he says. Kerjik is warm and talkative, but travellers should keep in mind that the Jahai speak of the negative impact that wildlife conservation and tourism have had on their lives. The orang asli receive gifts and cash donations from visitors, they are recommended by guides, and some of them work for tour companies and resorts. But for the most part, according to some, they have yet to gain a more meaningful role in the ecotourism industry that is taking shape here. ## Hidden Dangers and Endangered Animals ![](/storage/image/prev/Malazia-3-Reinfor-1024x682.jpg) The Jahai live among 10 species of hornbill and endangered mammals such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Asian elephant, the Malayan gaur and the Malayan tapir, as well as the Malayan tiger. You are unlikely to see the large creatures, but you might spot some of the smaller animals at the Sungai Papan salt lick, a mineral-rich patch teeming with butterflies that is often visited by wild boar, sambar deer and pangolins coming to feast on the nutrients. Later, Hafizul leads us on a short hike into the forest among columnar trunks, giant leaves and winding lianas, showing us plant life capable of producing all sorts of things. One of the most lucrative is the agarwood tree, which the locals call gaharu, from which oils are extracted for use in perfumery, incense and traditional medicine, and which sustains an annual global trade worth 6.4 billion dollars. On our final stop we slip into a secluded cove where the trees rise above us and lean towards one another, forming an imaginary green cathedral. Then we set off for the Sungai Ruok waterfall to escape the heat. The Belum Rainforest Resort also offers shorter excursions, such as a 40-minute night hike around its grounds on Banding Island. The hum of cicadas and crickets becomes the sound of silence, and Hafizul's eagle eyes help us find our way in the dark. We come across wild boar foraging for food and small but venomous creatures such as scorpions, spiders and centipedes. We also see giant ants the size of our thumb. And don't forget the leeches. Even the plants are dangerous in the dark. "Don't touch the bamboo. You'll get a terrible itch," says Hafizul. "Don't trip over the rattan vines. They have thorns that can scratch you." Along the way we pass an old watchtower from the 1950s, which the Malaysian military used in its fight against the communists who occupied the region back then. (When the hydroelectric dams flooded the Belum-Temengor forest, the communists lost their hiding place.) At the end of the hike we emerge onto the sloping banks of Lake Temengor beneath the East-West Highway, which divides Belum-Temengor into north and south. An administrator at the resort tells us that if you drive along this highway at night, you might see elephants crossing the road, if you're lucky. ## Planning Your Visit Banding Island lies 400 kilometres from Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the only way to get there is by car. To break up the journey, you can stop in the city of Ipoh, which should appeal to food and culture lovers alike. Compared with other Malaysian destinations, Belum-Temengor is relatively expensive. For convenience, most people book an accommodation package, which usually includes meals and a tour. The Belum Rainforest Resort offers luxury rooms and villas overlooking Lake Temengor, as well as cheaper rooms in the older buildings. These don't have televisions, but they do have all the other amenities you would normally expect, including WiFi. The more down-to-earth Belum Eco Resort, set on a separate island south of Banding, offers wooden chalets and dormitories without air conditioning, and electricity is only available from 6:30 to 8 in the morning. You will, however, have to pay a hefty surcharge if there are no other guests staying during your visit. If you are travelling as a group, both resorts also offer houseboats. Most tours in Royal Belum follow the standard route described above, though there are a few more rafflesia viewing spots, orang asli villages, salt lakes and waterfalls. These tours only cover the fringes of the park, so if you are after bolder adventures in the forest, try the Belum Adventure Camp. There are also fishing and birdwatching tours, as well as excursions beyond Royal Belum to the Temengor Forest Reserve, which do not require a permit.