Itinerary (4 days) - Itinerary II (5 days) - Itinerary III (6 days) - What they had to say

In 1993, members of the Malaysian Nature Society went north to the exciting and little known area of Belum and Temenggor in the state of Perak. There they found the greatest concentration of hornbills anywhere on earth, the greatest number of tigers in Malaysia, elephants and otters on the doorstep, and a great variety of new species of plants and animals. River Crossing more photos Belum lies in the most Northerly region of Perak, one of the 13 States of Malaysia. It is bounded to the north by the border with Thailand, to the east by the State of Kelantan, to the south by the tributaries of the Perak River and to the west by the man made lakes of Temenggor and Bersia. The Government constructed the East West highway in the 1970’s linking Gerik in Northern Perak to Jeli in Kelantan. At the same time as the highway, the Temenggor Dam was built for hydro-electric generation. This created a lake that stretched  its fingers more than 60 km up the Perak River Valley and formed islands such as Banding out of what had once been mountain tops. Road construction was hampered by Communist activities and in 1971, there was a major ambush on the soldiers and workers. The whole situation improved dramatically only in 1989 when the Communist Party of Malaya officially laid down their arms. The road winds through villages and agricultural land, then up through forested hills before dropping again to the level of Temenggor lake, onto the newly created island of Banding. Belum forest is only about a 4 ½ hour’s easy drive from Kuala Lumpur, using the North South Highway, and then taking the road to Gerik  immediately after crossing the Perak River bridge. When Temenggor Dam was completed in 1978, its crest rose 260 metres above sea level. The resultant lake reached a depth of nearly 100 metres at its deepest spot. The water now within the lake weighs approximately six trillion tons. The lake has drowned more than 150 square kilometres of land. As a result, standing dead trees are a major visual feature of the lake. Belum forest offers a wide variety of outdoor activities. These can range from game fishing to jungle trekking and camping to white water rafting. There are salt licks a plenty where if you are lucky, you would be able to see some of the wild life. This is normally done at nights, and the wild life can range from the big elephant to the small mouse deer and porcupines. Jungle trekking can take anywhere from 2 days to a week, depending on what you are after and where you want to go. This is one of the better ways to see the indigenous flora and fauna of Belum Forest. At certain times of the year, a visitor can easily see the infamous Rafflessia flower, the biggest flower in the world. The whole of the Perak River probably supports somewhere in the region of 125 or more fish species. Because Malaysia has so few natural lakes, there are very few fish species that are adapted to this habitat. Therefore, the lake is dominated by only five or six species of fish that are able to do well there. A popular game fish would be the Sebarau Hampala macrolepidota. These fish are usually found in areas where tributaries of the Perak River meet the lake, and around the edges of the lake. They take to baitfish as well as artificial lures and oil palm fruits. Beneath the surface, Kelah Tor tambroides swam amongst the tree roots. These fish can be easily spooked, and require a certain degree of skill to catch on rod and line. One can also fish for the Baung Mystus nigriceps, a freshwater catfish specie. This is usually caught on rod and line using chicken entrails or a mixture of chicken feed and flour dough, using bottom fishing technique. Perhaps the best gamefish in Temenggor lake would be the infamous Toman Channa micropeltes and its close cousin the Haruan snakehead. There have been documented catches of Toman as big and as heavy as 30 kgs or more, using live ducklings as bait! Normal catches range around the 2 to 3 kg size, using live baby catfish as bait. Tomans are good fighters and have razor sharp teeth, so usually 30 to 50 lb lines are used with wire leaders. The usual method is to accurately cast your baby catfish over a school of hundreds of baby Tomans. Juvenile Tomans along the edges of the lake also take to artificial lures. Haruans and Bujuks Channa lucius usually hide under sunken tree trunks, broken branches or amongst the tall waterweed and grasses. Baby frogs casted several times and mimicking frog movements will induce a bite from the wily Haruans and Bujuks. Accomodation at Belum is varied. For those who do not like to rough it out, the 3 star Banding Island Resort on Banding Island, where hot water and electricity is available 24 hours a day, is available. Our recommendation is for the fishing enthusiast to fully be with Mother Nature, and in this respect, a visitor can live in spartan split bamboo walled huts with common toilets or with slightly upgraded versions of wooden chalets. Food is usually adequate and aplenty but geared more towards the local taste. The rooms are clean, and a shower in the cold waters in the early mornings will usually wake up a fishing enthusiast fully. Come on over to the Belum forest, whether your interest is in hiking, jungle trekking, bird watching or fishing. Call us or email us for more details. Previous Page