Canopy Walk in Taman Negara

Taman Negara Canopy Walk

One of the most exciting treetop walks in Malaysia is no other than the canopy walk in Taman Negara, Pahang.

This amazing treetop walk is also known as the longest in the world, spanning a distance of 1,738 feet or 530 meters in length.

The canopy walk is also 40 meters or 131 feet above the rainforest floor and is connected with 9 tree platforms which sit in a 130 million-year-old rainforest. Taman Negara is also known as one of the oldest rainforests in the world.

As an avid outdoor lover, I had the opportunity to try the longest treetop walk in the world in early 2017.

This review is based purely on my personal experience and is one of the most popular things to do in Taman Negara National Park.

Canopy Walk in Taman Negara

Treetop Walk Taman Negara
Known as a treetop walk, this is the longest in the world
This project was originally built for research purposes in 1992 at a cost of around RM1 million and took about a year to complete it. It was first used in 1993 and only a section of 250 meters was completed.

After receiving positive reviews from visitors, they eventually opened it up to the public for use. Now, the Taman Negara canopy walk is the most visited attraction in the national park here.

The location of the canopy walk is also quite near to the park headquarters and Mutiara Taman Negara Resort.

From here, you can either hike there for about 1.5 kilometres or take a longboat to the river entrance.

Trails at Taman Negara
The path leading up to the canopy walk area
Most visitors would choose to hike to the canopy walk from the park headquarters as it is a scenic route with lots of flora and maybe some fauna to spot along the way.

Reaching the canopy area, you need to trek up via wooden stairs, which will take you around 10 minutes.

If you take the boat, it will stop at a small jetty where you will walk up via the stairs. Please note that the canopy walk is not disabled-friendly.

National Park Pahang
The Canopy Walk station in Taman Negara National Park
A fee of RM5.00 is collected at the start of the canopy walk by park officials, and this fee goes to the maintenance of the walkway.

After you purchase your tickets, they will register your name and country you are from. The ticket is then shown at the top of the wooden tower before you start your journey.

For those wanting to go to the bathroom, there are men and women's bathroom available at the bottom, before the canopy walk station.

Ticket for Canopy Walk
The entrance ticket priced at RM5.00 per person
At any one time, only three persons are allowed to walk in each section of the canopy walkway. This is purely for safety reasons.

The entire canopy is netted on both sides, therefore if you do slip or lose balance, you can hold the ropes and you are still in the canopy walk.

Though it may sound terrifying for some, the experience of walking on the world's longest canopy walk will guarantee you will talk about it to your friends or loved ones.

Canopy Walk Tower
The Canopy Walk Tower where you start your journey
At the start of the canopy walk, you will need to climb up a flight of stairs in a wooden tower. This is about two floors high, and there is an opening where your incredible journey begins.

The beginning is around five meters high as the canopy ascends from tree to tree. The thrill is to balance your walk by holding the ropes as you place your feet one after another on the wooden planks.

After several tree stations, you suddenly realise that the ground is over a hundred feet below you. If you are afraid of heights, then I suggest you do not look down. By then, you would be halfway through the walk.

Taman Negara Canopy Walking
At the start of the treetop walk, it does not look really high
At the peak of the canopy walk, you can stop at the highest station to catch a view of the rainforest canopy. Ambient nature sounds take over and chuckles of other visitors will be heard in the distance.

If you are lucky enough, you can spot the giant squirrels hopping about on the trees. Other wildlife will only be the rainforest birds that are heard often.

For bird watching in Taman Negara, chances of spotting some endemic birds along the canopy walk is a fifty-fifty chance. If you want to do bird photography, you can only do it at the tree stations.

Note that the canopy walk here will close when it rains or if the weather is bad. This is for safety reasons.

Worlds longest canopy walk
Walking on the world's longest canopy walk
Best Time To Visit The Canopy Walk in Taman Negara

I will be honest with you and say that the best time to visit this place is on a weekday. Why? You guessed it - The crowds. For me, I planned my trip on a weekend and on a school holiday period.

However, if you cannot avoid the weekend, then the other tip is to go to the canopy walk as early as possible, just before it opens.

They have different opening times, and you need to check with the park headquarters there.

Taman Negara National Park Canopy Walk
The canopy walk gets higher and longer as you go further in
The best time to visit Taman Negara is;
  • February to November: This is the season where the weather is great and may have small showers. Overall the optimum time to visit here is from February to June.
  • December to January: This is the rainy season, and is not the ideal time to visit the national park.
Most visitors tend to book their own travels to Taman Negara, meaning that they will either book a full tour package to Taman Negara or take the transport only package.

The transport is via a bus or van transfer to the national park, and all other bookings are on your own. There is currently no AirBnB available around the national park.

Taman Negara Tree Top Walk
Towards the end, you will come to a canopy staircase heading down
You can visit Taman Negara as a day trip or overnight trip, but either one lets you have an amazing experience of the Malaysian rainforest. I recommend you spend at least two days here to fully see this place.

For the traveller who loves nature, wildlife and the outdoors, this amazing national park in Pahang offers some of the best adventures you can have in the tropical country of Malaysia.

What to do in Taman Negara?

Taman Negara is about five to six hours drive away from Kuala Lumpur. There are quite a number of activities available to be done here. They include;
  • Visiting the canopy walk
  • River rapid shooting
  • Visiting the 'Orang Asli' (Native) village
  • Trekking
  • Bird watching
  • Visiting the waterfalls
  • Nocturnal trekking
Map of Taman Negara Canopy Walk
The map of the Taman Negara canopy walk
Conclusion

If you are interested, I wrote another article for those who want to know how to go to Taman Negara national park, especially if you need to book just the transport service there or find your own way there.

In general, the range of activities here will definitely keep you busy as there are quite a number of things you can do here.

One of the popular attractions is no other than the canopy walk in Taman Negara, which is also known as the longest in the world too.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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