Situated in the state of Perak, at the border of Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, the Belum-Temengor rainforest is 4 times the size of Singapore and is one of the world’s oldest tropical rainforests.
The Belum-Temengor Rainforest comprises Royal Belum State Park (117,500ha), Gerik Forest Reserve (34,995ha), Temengor forest reserve (147,505ha) and 45000ha of water bodies and is home to a vast number of species of animals and plants, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
In fact, scientific studies indicate that this pristine forest, which remains one of the largest untouched forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia, hold enormous potential for the discover of more biological treasures.
The stunning landscape of Belum-Temengor Rainforest houses over 3,000 species of flowering plants, including three species of the largest flower in the world – the Rafflesia. It is also the natural habitat of 64 species of ferns, 62 species of mosses, 46 species of palms, two species of balsams, a variety of rare orchids and over 30 species of ginger.
Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants that is made up of of 16 known species. The best known of these species is Rafflesia arnoldii, which has the distinction of being the world’s largest flower, reaching a diameter of about three feet. The genus Rafflesia gets its name from Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of the British colony of Singapore.
The Belum-Temengor Rainforest also consists of a man-made lake that is home to 23 species of freshwater fish and seven species of freshwater and land turtles.
Be mesmerized by the 274 species of birds, including all 10 hornbill species of Malaysia and over 100 species of mammals including 14 of the world’s reportedly most threatened mammals such as the Malaysian tiger, leopard, seladang (gaur), sun bear, Sumatran rhinoceros (critically endangered), Asiatic elephant, gibbons and Malaysian tapir.
Tapirs are large mammals with short snouts that are very flexible. There are four species, or kinds, of tapir. They are found in jungles and forests in South America, Central America and Southeast Asia. They are in a group of animals called 'odd-toes ungulates'. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, horses and rhinoceroses. All four kinds of tapir are classified as endangered or vulnerable. The Malaysian tapir is the largest of the four types of tapir.
The unspoiled magic of Belum, which literally means ‘land before time’, makes it an ideal destination for ecotourism activities, such as wildlife watching, education and research initiatives, which support the conservation efforts of the area.
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