Dating back more than 130 million years. Taman Negara is the oldest rainforest in the world. The forest is a mere 3 miles from Malaysia’s largest city, Kuala Lumpur, and boasts Sumatran rhinos, tigers, as well as 14,000 plant species and more than 300 species of birds.

The Taman Negara experience isn’t complete without a boat ride from the city of Kuala Tembeling into the depths of the forest. This aquatic journey along the edges of the park convey wholly how isolated the park is from the outside world. Step within the sun-filtering confines of the forest’s canopy and you’ll be struck by its primeval beauty.

Be reminded, a trip to the Taman Negara isn’t for the novice outdoorsman. The threat of encountering elephants, tigers, poisonous snakes, biting insects and eager leeches is always there. Because of this, visitors to the park can generally be divided into two categories: those appreciative and in-tune with the majesty that surrounds them, and those who literally can’t see the forest for the trees. Hostile or hospitable, the forest can be seen as either. Anyone booking a vacation to a tropical rainforest for the first time should keep this in mind.

Summit of Mount Kinabalu. [image credit]

Leopard kitten(?) in the palm oil plantations outside of Taman Negara during a night safari. [image credit]

Selaginella willdenowii [image credit]

Rattan (palm species). [image credit]

From Flickr: “The canopy walkway is the world’s longest (500 metres), strung up to 40 metres high above the forest floor. It was built by the staff of the Department of Wildlife & National Parks. For safety, every inch of it is checked every morning. The ropes have a minimum snapping strength of 5 tons and the steel cables more than 10 tons. The trees are protected with wooden spacers fitted between the bark and the cables and ropes: no nails have been driven into the trees. Every measure has been taken to protect the health of the trees and the visitors.” [image credit]

Sun filtered by the rain. [image credit]

Thottea dependens (Aristolochiaceae) [image credit]

Summit of Mount Kinabalu. [image credit]

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Known as “The Ghost’s Footprint Palm.” [image credit]

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