Taman Negara National Park: the Complete Guide
A trekking through the jungle, that’s something for your Malaysia itinerary, right? We thought the Taman Negara National Park was a special place and we did a super fun activity here! Read all our travel tips about this special National Park in Malaysia: from overnight stays to activities and useful tips!
How to Get to Taman Negara National Park?
From the Cameron Highlands we took a bus to Jerantut. From here smaller buses or a boat leave to Taman Negara. We chose the bus because of a shorter travel time compared to the boat. However, we thought it would have been fun to take a trip on the Tembeling River from Jerantut in the end! Finally, you arrive at Kuala Tahan, from where the national park is easy to visit.
Tip Where to Stay at Taman Negara
We stayed on a budget in a hostel near the river: Agosto Taman Negara Hostel. Very affordable, but don’t expect luxury (showering in the same cubicle as the toilet, for example). Nevertheless, we got a nice hostel experience in return with some friendly owners. The host even helped us with booking activities in Taman Negara.
Transportation Taman Negara
From Kuala Tahan you still have to cross the river to the entrance of Taman Negara. You can easily do this by boat, for a small amount each time (1 ringgit each during our visit, every crossing). On our first evening the water was so high that we even had to be taken to the restaurant by boat! A super fun experience. By the way, due to rainforest climate, this area may be subject to flooding occasionally.
Expenses Taman Negara National Park
Taman Negara National Park requires a permit. It’s only a few dollars for yourself and your phone and/or camera equipment. You are supposed to keep this permit with you at all times when you are in the park, but we have only experienced them asking about it once. Take some cash before departing at Jerantut or even Kuala Lumpur, ATM machines are very limited here.
Activities in Taman Negara National Park
We stayed for two days (3 nights) in Taman Negara and did the following activities.
Jungletrekking and Return by Boat over the Tembeling River
We planned the jungle trek on the first day. We did a full day trip hiking, boat trip and lunch. Our guide was super experienced and knew a lot about the trees, plants and animals. We even tasted some fruits during the trek we didn’t even know they existed (or whether they were safe to eat). We visited the Canopy Walk and the Teras waterfall during our daytrip. Futhermore, we also visited the Orang Asli, an indigenous tribe living in the jungle who like to teach tourists about their lifestyle. The day ended with rapid shooting. We were racing through the water in a narrow but fast boat. The captan was tilting the boat, causing large splashes of water. We were soaking wet, but it was really fun!
Hiking in the Area
You can also take walks in the park on your own. Please note that you are not allowed to go too far without a guide. At the entrance you will find a sign showing walks that you can take yourself and which you can only do with a guide.
Dinner on a Floating Restaurant
Where else can you eat on a floating restaurant overlooking a rainforest? You will find a lot of restaurants around the Tembeling river. Some of them are only accessible by boat! You can’t really go wrong when choosing a restaurant, but we really liked the family restaurant (see our travel plan on Google Maps).
Other Travel Tips Taman Negara
A visit to the Taman Negara National Park is more than worthwhile. But, we would have liked to know the following things in advance so that we could have prepared even better.
1. Bring a waterproof bag. Especially if you go rapid shooting, your stuff will get soaking wet (your bag may be in the front, but we still took our phones with us). If you forget this, no problem. Several shops in the village sell these bags!
2. Plan your jungle trek with rapid shooting on the first day to avoid having to put everything wet in your backpack on departure. You will get completely soaked from the rapid shooting event. Furthermore, we dived into the water during the jungle trekking several times just to cool down a little. Our stuff had to dry for a full day.
3. Bring cash. You go to a rainforest in the middle of nowhere. There is no ATM here yet. Even in Jerantut your options are limited.
4. Pack plenty of mosquito repellent and long socks! There are many leeches in the park, also there is a slight chance of mosquito diseases. The leeches are not dangerous, but the idea of them crawling over you and ‘biting’ is not really pleasant (or so we thought). Spray your clothes and skin thoroughly with insect repellent containing DEET and tuck your long pants into your socks. This way you can prevent a lot! Tip for if they do crawl up: spray some mosquito spray on them and they will quickly let go.
After Taman Negara National Park?
After our visit to Taman Negara, we traveled on to the Perhentian islands. Also, view our complete Malaysia itinerary for 3-4 weeks along the most beautiful places and sights.
