Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 447

Local buses Take a local bus towards Kuala Lipis (daily
6am, 10.30am & 3.30pm; 40min; RM5) and ask the driver
to let you off at the Tembeling jetty if you want to approach
Taman Negara by river, or else all the way to Kuala Tahan,
the village opposite the park headquarters (daily 8am &
1pm; 2hr; RM7), if you prefer to get there quicker. Alter-
natively, note that both NKS Hotel & Travel and Greenleaf
Travellers Inn offer a convenient minibus service both to
the jetty (daily 8.30am & 1.30pm; 30min; RM5) and the
village itself (daily 6.30am, 8.30am & 4.30pm; 1hr; RM25).
Long-distance buses Buses to Kuala Lumpur (hourly;
3hr), Kuantan (3 daily; 3hr 30min), Ipoh (every other day;
6hr 30min), Butterworth (every other day; 10hr) and Kuala
Perlis (every other day; 12hr 30min) leave from Jengka Bus
Station, a 30min taxi ride from Jerantut. NKS Hotel & Travel
arranges transport to the Perhentian Islands (9hr), the
Cameron Highlands (3hr 30min), Kota Bharu (9hr), Penang
(6hr 30min), and Kuala Lumpur (2hr 30min) according
to demand.
By train The train station is off Jln Besar, just behind Hotel
Sri Emas . Some of the trains from Jerantut leave for various
destinations in the middle of the night. Get to the train
station half an hour before the scheduled departure time.
Destinations

Malaysia. Trails ranging from short, sunlit
strolls to hardcore tropical treks snake
through some of the oldest rainforest in the
world. Accommodation ranges from luxury
resorts and rustic guesthouses to hides and
campsites. To catch sight of some of the
more impressive mammals, you probably
need to do a three- or four-day trek,
staying in hides along the way.
he most popular and convenient
location to base yourself from is Kuala
Tahan , the village across the river from
the park headquarters. he best time to
visit the park is between February and
October, during the “dry” season,
although it still rains even then. In the
wet season (mid-Oct to Feb), there may
be restrictions on the trails and boat trips.

6

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
While many come to Taman Negara for
intense trekking and wildlife-spotting ,
there are plenty of others who just fancy
a meander through the jungle. here are
options galore for both, with multi-day
treks, waterfalls to explore, off-the-
beaten-track jungle camps, a man-made
canopy walkway and plenty of short
hikes. Other attractions include the bat
caves of Gua Telinga, the river rapids of
Trenggan River, night jungle walks, night
boat safaris and a lazy boat ride down the
Sungei Tahan itself.

Kota Bharu (3 daily at 2pm, 3am & 5am;
8hr); Kuala Lumpur (daily at 1am; 8hr); Singapore (2 daily
at 2pm & 3am; 8hr). Check W ktmb.com.my for the latest
schedules.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Food Court Jln Pasar Besar. Between the train and bus
stations there are several open-air no-frills restaurants
clustered along the side of the road. They're very popular
with locals and travellers alike, and serve a mix of Thai,
Malay and Chinese food, the special being tom yam soup,
though there's excellent roti , nasi goreng and kuey teow
too. Mains RM5. Daily 6pm-2am.
Hotel Sri Emas 46 Jln Besar T 09 266 4499. A 5min walk
from the train station, this basic hotel has rooms decked
out in purple paint; beds are pretty spindly and the r ooms
are quit e pok y. The “dorm” just has two beds. Dorm RM8 ,
double RM15
NKS Hotel & Travel 21-22 Jln Besar T 09 260 1770,
W taman-negara-nks.com. A backpacker favourite, this place
is your one-stop shop for organizing your trip to Taman
Negara - from transport to accommodation and activity
packages. Rooms are pretty spartan and toilet facilities basic,
but they are kept clean enough. Double RM15

The hides
Spending a night in one of the park's
hides ( bumbun ), situated beside salt licks,
doesn't guarantee sightings of large
mammals, but the sound of the jungle at
night does guarantee that it'll be a
memorable experience, and you may
catch sight of deer, tapir, elephant,
leopard or wild ox. he hides offer very
(very) basic bunk accommodation in
concrete huts for six to eight people and
must be booked at the wildlife o ce in
the resort (RM5 per person, depending
on the hide). hey are sturdily built and
su ciently raised up that you don't have
to worry about things creeping up on you
during the night, and they do have very
basic washing and toilet facilities (except
Bumbun Tahan), but no electricity, so
bring a torch. Take all the food and drink

TAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK
Taman Negara is Peninsular Malaysia's
largest and most popular national park
and contains perhaps some of the most
spectacular jungle scenery in West