Kuala Tahan - Taman Negara National Park

Kuala Tahan - Taman Negara National Park

I left the island of Penang in the morning and took the long drive to Kuala Terengganu. It's a city in the middle of nowhere, so I only stayed for a day before getting on the bus the next day, hoping to reach my destination by 3 pm. Unfortunately, we arrived in Jerantut around 6 pm. There were only two options to reach the actual destination: taxi or minivan. Of course, I chose the minivan, and we arrived in Kuala Tahan shortly after 7 pm. This is where the road ends and there is nothing but rainforest on the other side of the river.

And that's what we were here for - to explore the rainforest. On the second day after our arrival, Patrick, Dina, Loki, the guide, and I took a boat to our first stop, the Canopy Walk. It was a beautiful experience walking among the treetops.

We continued our journey on the boat for an hour upstream. That's where our hike began. Our destination for the day was Gua Kepayang Besar, a cave located 8 km away. Most of us were initially in a good mood until we found out about the leeches. I was prepared, but the others weren't. It was quite entertaining to see everyone trying to avoid the leeches, although it was nearly impossible. Those creatures are too quick. The weather was tropical, and during our second break, Patrick mentioned how beautiful the weather was...and the most important thing was that it didn't rain. One minute later, our guide looked up and said, "It's starting to rain now."

However, what we experienced was more than just rain for our standards. It was more like a torrential downpour that lasted for an hour. Nevertheless, we had to continue our hike, so within 3 minutes, we were completely soaked. The water was seeping out of our shoes, but at least our backpacks were protected by the rain cover. The good thing was that the water was warm, so it wasn't that bad. We finally reached the cave and our overnight accommodation as darkness set in. We showered in the nearby river and then enjoyed a delicious meal of canned curry chicken and rice. Soon after, we made ourselves comfortable on our sleeping mats. As the lights went off, the nocturnal creatures took over. Rats and other small animals made their presence known throughout the night.

On the second day, we continued our hike for another 8 km through the rainforest, and fortunately, the weather held up. We took a break at the river for a refreshing swim and another quick lunch. By then, we had finished all our provisions, so our backpacks were relatively light for the remaining 2 hours until we reached the river, where our boat was waiting for us.

We headed back towards Kuala Tahan, making a final stop at a village of the indigenous people, the Orang Asli. They showed us some aspects of their daily lives, such as making fires and hunting animals with blowpipes. On the last stretch towards our destination, we enjoyed a thrilling boat ride with high speed and splashes of water, bringing us back to Kuala Tahan, where we rejoined civilization. All in all, it was a great adventure far from civilization.