Royal Belum
Rainforest Older Than The Amazon On The Thai Border, Flooded Into A Lake Of Drowned Trees By A Dam, Holding All Ten Malaysian Hornbill Species And Three Kinds Of Rafflesia · Gerik, Perak
BELUM IS RAINFOREST THAT HAS STOOD FOR SOMETHING LIKE A HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILLION YEARS - OLDER THAN THE AMAZON, OLDER THAN THE CONGO - on the Thai border in the far north of Perak. AND IN 1974 A DAM FLOODED THE VALLEY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF IT, creating LAKE TEMENGOR and leaving DEAD TREES STANDING OUT OF THE WATER in grey ranks that are now the signature image of the place. You move through it by boat. WHAT IS IN THERE: ALL TEN MALAYSIAN HORNBILL SPECIES, which is a list no other single site can match; THREE SPECIES OF RAFFLESIA; tigers, elephants and sun bears that you will not see; and SALT LICKS where the big animals come at night. THE TEMIAR AND JAHAI ORANG ASLI LIVE HERE. ACCESS IS BY PERMIT AND BOAT ONLY, arranged through operators at PULAU BANDING, and the northern half is more restricted than the southern. Camp inside rather than day-tripping from Banding, expect leeches on every trail, and treat a rafflesia bloom as luck rather than something you can book around.
Royal Belum State Park, Hulu Perak, Perak, Gerik, Perak, Malaysia
ROYAL BELUM IS REACHED VIA GERIK on the EAST-WEST HIGHWAY, roughly three hours from Ipoh or Penang, to PULAU BANDING on Lake Temengor. ACCESS TO THE PARK REQUIRES A PERMIT AND A REGISTERED GUIDE, arranged through the operators or the resort at Banding - YOU CANNOT ENTER INDEPENDENTLY, and permits for the northern section are more restricted and need more notice. EVERYTHING HAPPENS BY BOAT. MOST VISITORS BUY A TWO OR THREE NIGHT PACKAGE including boat, guide, permits and meals, either staying at Banding or CAMPING INSIDE THE PARK, which is far better. RAFFLESIA SIGHTINGS DEPEND ENTIRELY ON WHETHER ONE IS IN BLOOM - ask, and do not plan around it. LEECHES ARE ROUTINE. It rains in every month and the lake level moves.