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Taman Negara National Park
Malaysia is naturally proud of its national park, Taman Negara, 4,343 square kilometres of virgin forest and home to over 200 varieties of animals and just as many species of plants, trees and blooms.
A paradise, not just for botanists and entomologists, it is a heavenly haven for all who wish to get away from the concrete jungle, and experience the real jungle.
The journey to Taman Negara is an adventure in itself, and as you skim over rivers in narrow boats or motorized sampans, through lowland and cloud forests, you will be serenaded by the music of nature - the chirping crickets, the calls of the birds and the rustling of the wind among the leaves of the trees that are said to be more than 130 million years old. This two-hour journey will take you to the park headquarters in Kuala Tahan, where you'll start your activities..
Taman Negara is a magical place of lush greenery, and its serene tranquility will weave its spell over you as you make your way through the park, be it on a single night safari or a nine-day trek up Gunung Tahan, the highest mountain on Peninsular Malaysia. Walk amongst the tall giants of old - the meranti hardwood trees, and look around in wonder at the seeming ease with which they touch the heavens.
Be discreet and you'll catch a glimpse of the gentle giants of Taman Negara - the elephants. Be still and you'll see deer and other animals lapping it up at the salt licks. Hear the roar of the giant cat - the Malaysian tiger and be in awe of its majestic dignity.
Drift silently down the meandering rivers, and see the kingfishers, monkeys, hornbills, and other exotic birds and animals as they watch you from the water's edge or from the treetops. Take a walk in the clouds and join the birds, 25 metres above the ground, on the canopy walkway. Take a hike and take the plunge, into waters crystal clear and cool, rejuvenated by the spray of waterfalls crisp mountain air.
Taman Negara - it's a jungle out there!
Paya Indah Wetlands
The only sanctuary for nature amidst an urban environment, Paya Indah is located on the western part of Selangor state, near Putrajaya, the new administrative centre of the Malaysian government and the new KL International Airport. Developed on a depleted tin mining area, its many lakes and peat swamps are home to a host of flora and fauna thriving in all their natural glory. Here is found 5,000 hectares of birds, reptiles, amphibians and rare aquatic plants - an impressive total of 75 species of living creatures and 220 species of plants.
Accessible only by bicycle, horsecart or by foot, the wetlands is a wonderful retreat from the heat and stress of the city. Colourful wildflowers, dancing in the wind carpet vast areas of the park.
Pink, white lotus blooms and water lilies cover the surface of the lakes and playful otters swimming around, hippos hiding beneath, eyes peeping out to peer at you just as you try to get a peep at them. See the more than 40 species of fish, darting around the Aquaculture Jetty, and have a barbeque picnic overlooking the main lake.
Bird-watching is a rewarding experience, with electric blue kingfishers perched on tree stumps, purple herons dipping around with their beaks looking for food, bee-eaters, kites and eagles gliding majestically in the skies, the bulbuls with their colourful "head-dress" and the whistling teal coming to roost.
Go on a jungle trek or nature walk; the clear clean air is incentive enough, plus you'll get a chance to see the many creatures - monkeys, geese, civet cats, snakes - that have returned to this place after being driven off by tin mining and logging activities 100 ago. With nature camps for the kids or recreational fishing for the angling enthusiast - Paya Indah Wetlands is a sanctuary indeed, not only for the flora and fauna of Malaysia.
Forest Institute of Malaysia
Would you believe that just 16 kilometres northwest of Kuala Lumpur the city, is a beautiful park for nature lovers to experience the wonders of a tropical forest? This park in Kepong is the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), the nearest green destination for city dwellers.
Take a walk in its botanic gardens or along its nature trails to its informative museums which tell visitors all about wood and its uses. A good example would be the two reconstructed traditional timber houses that strongly reflect the cultural and architectural styles of Malacca and Terengganu.
Head for the wetland area, teeming with life, or take a walk from tree to tree on its canopy walk, suspended 30 metres above the ground, and have a picnic at its designated spots or trek to its ponds and waterfalls - the sights, sounds and smells of nature will keep you enthralled the whole time that you are there.
Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor is another captivating place to head for; your experience here will have you marvelling at its natural wonders long after your visit is over. An intriguing combination of history, nature, wildlife and local colour, Kuala Selangor is a little coastal town 64 km northwest of KL. Rustic villages, and trees including cocoa, rubber, oil palm, banana trees and coconut line the roads to Kuala Selangor as you near the sandy soil of the coast. This is just the prelude to the wonders of Kuala Selangor...
Kampung Kuantan
At dusk, thousands of little twinkling lights light up the mangrove trees. For this spectacular display of nature, make your way to Bukit Belimbing and catch a ride on a small boat or a sampan upriver to where the mangrove trees grow in abundance on the banks of the Selangor river.
As the last rays of sunlight fade into the twilight, your whole view will gradually be illuminated by thousands upon thousands of fireflies, flickering amongst the trees.
Taman Alam Kuala Selangor
Herons dipping their bills into the water in search of the tasty fishes, molluscs, snails and crustaceans are common in the 300 hectares of mangrove and secondary forest reserve. Nests, roosting hens, hatchlings and observation shelters also abound. Broadwalks through the quiet park enable the human visitors to observe other visitors as well as to visit with the residents of the wonderfully diverse ecosystem of this mangrove swamp and forest.
Every year from September to April, as many as 100,000 birds fly south. Because of this, bird-watching is especially rewarding at Taman Alam; its natural mangrove swamps are a sure lure as a stopover spot for the winged visitors who rest and feed at the lake or the mudflats.
Some proceed to their natural nesting grounds in Indonesia or Australia, while others escape the cold winter by having a warm vacation in the lush wetlands here. More than 130 species of birds have been spotted, including the rare spoon-billed sandpiper, plover, kingfisher, Chinese goshawk, Japanese sparrowhawk, eagles, brahminy kite and Nordmann's Greenshank.
Take the cue from the birds and stop over at Taman Alam, too - there are comfortable chalets available for you.
Pulau Ketam
Watch fishermen coming home from the sea, unloading their catch, with the setting sun casting golden slivers of fading light over the horizon and on the waves. A fishing village almost always evokes feelings of peace and tranquility and of the simplicity of man in harmony with nature.
There is just such a fishing village in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur; just take the early morning Komuter train from the KL Railway Station and head for Port Klang. Walk across to the nearby jetty and take a boat to Pulau Kapas, where you can stay overnight with a fisherman's family under the homestay programme.
Spend the day wandering around the island, amongst the fisherfolk; see how crabs and jellyfish are harvested from the farms in the open sea, how shrimp paste is made, and how women and children all chip in to build a life with the men out at sea. As its name so clearly suggests, this island is teeming with crabs - fiddler crabs, mud crabs - take your pick.
The marshland that makes it a breeding ground for crabs also makes a superb birdwatching spot: birds of all feathers are lured by the prospect of feasting on crabs, fish and other mangrove swamp creatures. Laugh at the antics of the mudskipper, which skims and darts and swims in the water and yet tries so very hard not to disappear underneath by climbing on rocks and trees.
Savour the delights of a freshly caught dinner on the fringe of the seaside. The evening seabreeze will give you a hearty appetite with which to tuck into sweet, succulent fish, prawns and crabmeat that will melt in your mouth.
Pulau Ketam, as rustic and as natural as you can get in KL.
Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve & Sumatran Rhinoceros Conservation Sanctuary
Set up to ensure that the second species of Malaysia's rhinoceros - the critically endangered, two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros - is not hunted to extinction, this reserve is a temporary home for the displaced rhinos which have been rescued from around the country.
Located 80 kilometres north-west of KL, wildlife experts work tirelessly in their efforts to help the rhinos breed - something that is very difficult for the shy, solitary and peaceful rhinos to do in captivity. | 
