Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 449

white-eyed dusky leaf monkeys swinging
determinedly among the branches
- particularly in the mornings, as in the
middle of the day the wildlife tends to be
hiding from the heat. From the walkway,
you can climb up to the two viewpoints
of Bukit Teresek; from the first you can
enjoy panoramic views over the
surrounding jungle and Tembeling River,
while from the second you can soak in
views of Peninsular Malaysia's highest
mountain, Gunung Tahan.

though fitting through some of the
cavities requires some contortionist action
(wear clothes you don't mind ruining).
At the time of research the cave was
temporarily closed due to structural
problems. Check with the park
headquarters for further information.

6 The rapids of Lata Berkoh

Most people visit the rapids of Lata
Berkoh by boat, but you could walk the
trail there and arrange for a boat to pick
you up for the return journey. Sampans
from Kuala Tahan cost around RM90 for
four people and take half an hour. he
trail from the park headquarters (8.5km;
4hr) starts at the campsite and leads
through dense rainforest, then crosses
gullies and steep ridges, before reaching
the river, which must be forded. he final
part of the trail runs north along the west
side of Sungei Tahan before reaching the
rapids. he rapids themselves are 50m
north of Lata Berkoh campsite. here's a
deep pool for swimming, and you may
see kingfishers, large fish eagles, bulbul
birds and monitor lizards.

The Bukit Indah trail
his is a steep but lovely hill climb,
meandering northeast past the canopy.
It's a three-hour round trip from the park
headquarters. Initially, this follows the
riverbank, and you stand a chance of
spotting monkeys, various birds,
squirrels, shrews, a multitude of insects
and perhaps tapir or wild ox. he path to
Bukit Indah hill itself leaves the main
riverside trail (which continues to Kuala
Trenggan, 6km away) and climbs at a
slight gradient for 200m to give a lovely
view over the jungle and the rapids of
Sungei Tembeling.

The Keniam trail
From the park headquarters sampans
travel to Kuala Keniam jetty (1hr 30min),
passing Kampong Pagi village along the
way. he most popular hike from here is
the Keniam trail (14km), a major
highlight, where there's a small chance of
spotting elephants, as well as porcupine,
gaur (wild buffalo), clouded leopard,
tapir, wild pigs, civets and sun bears.
From the jetty a path leads through
jungle (5-6hr; 7km) before reaching
Gua Kepayang Besar cave , where most
visitors stay overnight. he following
morning, the hike continues to Kuala
Trenggan (5-6hr; 7km), from where you
can catch a sampan back to Kuala Tahan

Gua Telinga Bat Cave
he major Rentis Tenor trail leads south
alongside the river, with branches to
Gua Telinga. From one of the floating
restaurants in Kuala Tahan, take a taxi
boat across the Sungei Tahan River. On
the other side, follow the trail through a
small village into the trees. After 3km,
follow the sign north for a further 200m
to reach the limestone cave of Gua Telinga
(“he Bat Cave”), which is teeming with
tiny roundleaf and fruit bats, as well as
giant toads, black-striped frogs and
(non-venomous) whip spiders. You can
follow a guide rope through the 80m-long
cave, and it's weirdly good fun, even

LOVELY LEECHES
Just after the monsoon, the leeches come to the surface with even greater wriggling
enthusiasm than usual. Leech bites don't hurt at all (unless it's a tiger leech) and leeches are
completely harmless, but if you are determined to avoid them, pick up some leech socks
before you leave home and wear long trousers underneath. If you do get leeches on you, you
can just gently ease them off; you'll find that locals don't bother with things such as lighters
and salt; they tend to wait for the leech to fill its belly with your blood, before leaving satisfied.