An excellent place for jungle trekking and camping is the Royal Belum State Park. Depending on which trek you are being led on by your guide, you can expect at least six hours of jungle trekking into a somewhat unexplored rainforests. Along the way, you can stop and marvel at some of the flora and fauna that exist there like Rafflesia, blooming Wild Ginger as well as few salt licks spots.

Here at Belum, you can see valleys and mountains, pristine cascades and few limestone outcrops. Most of the areas are occupied by the Orang Asli (the indigenous people). If you are lucky, you may catch glimpses of animals rarely spotted in other other parts of the country. These include bears, deer, tiger and other species of mammals and reptiles.

Royal Belum State Park is of great interest to ecologists, conservationists and nature enthusiasts. Covering an area of 134,167ha, the forest reserve has been found to contain new and unknown species of trees and insects since the Malaysian Nature Society's expedition there in 1993.

To get there:

The nearest towns are Grik in Perak and Jeli in Kelantan which are connected by the scenic East-West Highway. Kuala Lumpur to Belum takes six hours by road. Join the North-South Highway and exit at Kuala Kangsar. Head for Grik and then to Pulau Banding. It is also accessible from Baling in Kedah via Pengkalan Hulu from the north. From Kota Bharu it's a three-hour drive.