Amazon Jungle in the middle of Malaysian Peninsula

In the middle of the Malaysian peninsula lies a rainforest so old it makes the entire Amazon jungle seem like new growth. Taman Negara, literally ‘national park’ in Malay, has lain virtually undisturbed for 130 million years. Located as it is in the centre of the equator, even ice ages left barely a dent in this ancient jungle. The flora and fauna of Taman Negara are unrivaled; 14,000 species of plants, 200 mammals and 240 types of trees can be found in a mere hectare of this lush rainforest.

Prior to the Jurassic period, the entire Malay peninsula was submerged underwater. As a result, sedimentary rock and limestone make up the fertile base of Taman Negara and its interesting cave system. Most of Malaysia’s fossils have also been discovered within the limestone of this national park.

Winding through Taman Negara and serving as its main highway is the Tembeling River and its tributaries the Tahan, Trenggan and Kenyam. Wooden river boats known as ‘perahu’ ply the waters, transporting people and supplies as they have done for hundreds of years. Human habitation along the river can be dated back nearly 2,000 years, bronze artifacts having been found along the river.

Living within the rainforest are Malaysia’s earliest inhabitants, or Orang Asli, meaning original or native people. The Orang Asli of Taman Negara are of the Negrito group, who have burial sites in Malaysia dating back 10,000 years. The Orang Asli live in settlements of about ten to thirty people. In the rainforest, they still live in hunter gatherer societies, in harmony with nature. The Orang Asli believe that only animals living above ground are best for consumption, so they hunt birds, squirrels and monkeys. Hunting was originally done with bows and arrows but nowadays the Orang Asli find blowpipes more effective. The darts of the blowpipes are tipped with the poisonous sap of the Ipoh tree (Antaris toxicaria). They supplement their diet with fish and jungle fruits. 

Far outnumbering the human inhabitants are the flora and fauna of Taman Negara. Within the park boundaries there are tigers, Malayan tapirs, elephants, wild boar, various species of deer, leopards, sun bears, civets and wild ox, to name just a few. Taman Negara has one of the richest ecologies on earth, protected both by its impenetrability and Malaysian law.

Visitors can, however, still experience the wonder of being in an ancient rainforest and take walks along jungle paths either on the ground or from hanging bridges in the trees. Taman Negara is a unique environment and hopefully one that will remain relatively untouched for many, many years to come.

Source: environmentalgraffiti | Image credits: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7