Imagine seeing the world’s biggest flower, Rafflesia blossoming, catching civet cats, wild boar, small deer, porcupines, monkeys and giant squirrels on your camera.  Welcome to Gunung Gading National Park, a beautiful expanse of mountainous rainforest only two hours away from Kuching. Located near Lundu, a pleasant little town in south-west Sarawak.

Gunung Gading was gazetted as a park in 1st August 1983 primarily to provide a conservation zone for the protection of the Rafflesia. It was opened to the public in 1994 and Gunung Gading National Park remains closely watched by the National Parks Department to ensure that visitors will get the best opportunities to view the flowering Rafflesia without causing any damage to the young buds and other flora in the surrounding area. A plank walk has been built close to where the Rafflesia is commonly found, making viewing possible when the plant is in bloom.

The park has other attractions, including a series of challenging jungle trails and a number of waterfalls and excellent bathing spots. All jungle trekking trails are colour coded. The park includes four mountain peaks - Gunung Gading, Gunung Perigi, Gunung Sebuloh and Gunung Lundu - so most of the jungle treks involve a significant amount of hill walking and a reasonable level of fitness is required. The summit treks are for serious hikers - they can be done in a day but this requires 7-8 hours of hiking, so an early start is essential in order to enjoy the rainforest scenery.

The rugged mountains within the Park provide a scenic backdrop to the nearby town of Lundu, and the beaches at Pandan and Siar. So if you haven’t seen the world’s biggest flower live in front of your eyes, this is the chance to see it for yourself here!

For more information, visit www.sarawakforestry.com/htm/snp-np-gading.html