Taman Negara Getting there & around

Getting there & away

The main way to reach Taman Negara is to take a bus or train to Jerantut, a bus or taxi from Jerantut to Kuala Tembeling and then a boat from Kuala Tembeling to park headquarters at Kuala Tahan, but you can also take a bus from Jerantut direct to Kampung Kuala Tahan. Driving to Kampung Kuala Tahan is straightforward, but to do so is to miss the river trip, which is a big part of the Taman Negara experience.

Land

Bus & taxi

From KL, NKS (03-2072 0336; www.taman-negara.com) has a daily bus to the Kuala Tembeling jetty from the Hotel Mandarin Pacific in Chinatown at 8.30am (RM35), returning to KL at 11.30am. The Pudu Hostel also runs daily shuttle buses to Kuala Tembeling.

Car

A road goes all the way from Jerantut to Kampung Kuala Tahan, traversable in an ordinary car.

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Boat

The main entry point into the park is by riverboat from Kuala Tembeling, 18km north of Jerantut. The 60km boat trip to Kuala Tahan takes two to three hours, depending on the level of the river. Along the river you’ll see several Orang Asli kampung, local fishing people and domestic animals such as water buffalo. You might also see monk­eys, otters, kingfishers and hornbills from the boat. It’s a beautiful journey.

Regular boats (one way RM25) depart daily at 9am and 2pm (9am and 2.30pm Friday). Extra boats are laid on during the busy season but the service can be irregular during the November to February rainy season. Boats are run by the Mutiara Taman Negara resort and Nusa Holiday Village, whose boats also stop at park headquarters before continuing to Nusa Holiday Village, so you can take either service. At Tembeling, the resort’s office is up the steps above the jetty, and Nusa Holiday Village’s is near the parking area.

On the return journey, regular boats leave Kuala Tahan at 9am and 2pm (2.30pm on Friday) and speedboats leave at 10am; there is no discount for return tickets.

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