Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVAL. MEET YOUR HOSTS AND A MALAY DINNER - Arrive at Merapoh Bus Station to be picked up by our team members. After lunch you will have time to settle in to your accommodation in the ecohouse, after which you will be briefed about the upcoming activities. Tomorrow will be a busy day, so after a delicious traditional Malay meal with a local family, you can rest and have a good night’s sleep.

 DAY 2: FORAGING WITH THE BATEK LADIES & DINNER AT SUNSET POINT - Today you will witness the beauty of the Taman Negara Rainforest, guided by the Batek ladies. The Batek tribal people are one of the aboriginal groups in the Malay Peninsular or “Orang asli” - meaning original people in the Malay language. Although living in villages for the last decade, they still maintain a hunter-gatherer culture, continuing an unwavering bond with the surrounding jungle through the generations. When it gets too hot to stay in their government-built brick houses they reside in the jungle for up to a month. The lovely Batek ladies will guide you into the forest on a 4-5 hour hike, off the beaten track and into the wild. Be ready to be decorated with flowers in your hair and natural paint on your face. Don’t be surprised when you’ll be asked to carry roots, leaves or fish back to the village: if you’re going to live with the Batek, you must work like a Batek! Finish a hard-days adventuring in style: dinner overlooking a beautiful rainforest sunset.

DAY 3: POACHER SURVEILLANCE PATROL & CAMPING - The rainforest is calling for you again, so today you will be hiking into a different part of the jungle. Your presence in the jungle will keep poachers at a distance and help our team collect location data of sun bears, leopards, elephants and perhaps even the Malayan Tiger. The Batek will show you the way again. Pay attention to the path you’re walking on to find the pugmarks of the rainforests wildlife. In the afternoon you will set up camp. This will include: building your own shelter out of branches and leaves, collecting bamboo, cutting a bamboo cup for yourself, fishing and cooking your catch on a fire. After another day of tribal life you will be rewarded with a simple but stunning dinner. Feel free to bath in the river, gaze at the fire, listen to the birds and fall asleep on a bed of leaves. Tonight is your last night, but one never to be forgotten.

DAY 4: BREAK CAMP, DEBRIEF & DEPARTURE - After waking to the gentle sounds of nature it is time to break camp. Back at the ecohouse you can wash the mud from your feet and take a “real” shower. Tired but satisfied, the team will bring you back to the bus station and send you off to continue your travels. 

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