TRAILS OF KUBAH NATIONAL PARK

Detail of trekking times




1. The Palmetum

The Palmetum is devoted to Kubah’s best known feature - its palms. It is a short walking trail, located next to the park HQ, and highlights various species of palm found in Kubah. The trail is extensively labelled, highlighting dozens of different palms of all shapes, sizes and colours.

2. Belian Trail

The newly established Belian trail highlights the conservation of the Belian tree (Eusideroxylon zwageri, also known as Borneo Ironwood). This finest of hardwoods is endemic to Borneo, and because it is extremely strong and durable it is used locally in house construction and agriculture, especially as support poles for pepper planting. The same qualities also make it esteemed by the Chinese for the building of coffins. This one way trail is approximately 1 hour’s easy walking. As well as huge Belian trees, you can see a wide variety of plant life, including, gingers, unique giant mushrooms and beautiful climbing figs and rattans. The large number of fruiting trees - such as durian, rambutan, cempedak (jackfruit), figs and salacca fruit - contributes to a wide variety of birds and animals. Hard-to find forest birds including the maroon woodpecker, white rumped shama, chestnut-naped forktail, and rufous-collard kingfisher are often heard and seen, and giant squirrels are frequently spotted jumping from tree to tree.

3. Selang Trail

It takes about 40 minutes from the Park HQ to reach the end of this short trail and the viewing point on Bukit Selang. On a clear day the viewing point offers superb panoramas of the surrounding area. Looking down you see the tree-covered slopes of the park give way to agricultural land and small villages, rivers winding through the mangrove forests that hug the coast, Satang Island turtle sanctuary, and Mount Santubong rising up in the distance.

4. The Main Trail

The Main Trail passes through mixed dipterocarp forest and joins up with the other trails, giving visitors the option of continuing on into the forest, visiting the waterfall, or returning along the Gunung Serapi Road.

5. Waterfall Trail

The Waterfall Trail starts from the Park HQ and takes approximately 1 hr 30 mins. The trail passes through mixed dipterocarp forest and has numerous plankwalk sections which cross swampy areas and small jungle streams. Wild durian trees can be seen along the sides of the trail. The waterfall consists of a number of sections with the main section dropping some 10 metres onto a wide rocky ridge. Below this ridge is a small pool that is idea for a cool jungle dip.

6. Rayu Trail

This trail starts at the 900 ft mark on the Gunung Serapi Road, and leads to the nearby Matang Wildlife Centre, some 3 hours 30 mins away. The trail passes through pretty riverine forest with some buttress-rooted rainforest giants and a number of bintangor trees. Aids researchers are currently conducting tests on chemicals extracted from the bintangor. Therefore you may see small incisions in the tree bark where the bintangor has been tapped for sap. The Rayu trail ends at a clear jungle stream adjacent to the Matang Wildlife Centre.

7. Gunung Serapi Summit Trail

The walk to the summit of Gunung Serapi takes 3-3 1/2 hours and is one of the park’s most popular walks. There is a viewing platform at the top and on a clear day the view is simply stunning. Kuching, Mount Santubong, the coastline of Southwest Sarawak and the mountain peaks that mark the border with Indonesia can all be seen in the distance beyond the forest of green that rolls out from below. This view is made all the more amazing at sunset and sunrise when the whole panorama is set against an ever changing backdrop of reds, oranges and purples.


Reference
http://www.sarawakforestry.com/htm/snp-np-kubah.html