GUA
MUSANG
Rafting on the Nenggiri
River
The Nenggiri River
flows from the backcountry of Kelantan. From the
highlands it meanders its way through a series of
rapids and later joins the Kelantan River at Kuala
Krai. A section of the river, from Kuala Betis to
Kuala Setelu, has become the playground of adventure
and nature lovers. This remote area will probably
remain unchanged for some years to come. Vast tracks
of virgin jungle line both sides of the river broken
occasionally byan orang asli settlement and
limestone outcrops. Some of Malaysia's richest
archaeological caves are to be found along the
river: Gua Cha, Gua Chawan and Gua Jaya. These caves
are archaeologically important as unlike other caves
throughout the Peninsula, they have been undisturbed byguano collectors.
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The most
interesting way to get to Gua Musang is bytrain from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru or
Singapore. From Kuala Lumpur, it takes eight
to nine hours. byroad, Gua Musang takes
three hours from Kota Baru and about five
hours from Kuala Lumpur. There are express
coaches and taxis from Kota Baru and Kuala
Lumpur. There are also daily flights to Kota
Baru. From Gua Musang, a pre-arranged
transfer can be made to the starting point
of the rafting expedition in Sungai Nenggiri
at either Kuala Betis, some 40 minutes away,
or historical Gua Cha, about 90 minutes via
the trunk road.
Gua Musang is set to be a hub for
eco-tourism with budget travelers as the
target market. |
Hence, there is an
absence of star-rated hotels in the sleepy town.
Among its limited range are more presentable
lodgings at Kesedar Inn and Fully Inn.
Your adventure
begins after your arrival at the timber town
of Gua Musang (Pahang/ Kelantan border);
from there, you travel byoff-road vehicles
to Kuala Betis, the usual Put-In-Point. Here
you `board’ the inflatable rafts for some
whitewater actions. You raft along the 53km
of the little known Nenggiri River that
flows from the backcountry of Kelantan.
En-route you stop to visit GUA CHA
Archaeological Site with its mysterious cave
and imposing limestone.
Rafting down the river either on bamboo raft
or rubber inner tubes is the best form of
traversing this section of the river. Just
float down, or paddle if you want to go
faster. A trip of 2/3 days and 1/2 nights
will be adequate to cover this section. Just
savour the atmosphere while being
accompanied bycacophony of sounds from
animals and birds in a jungle environment.
If you are lucky, you may be able to sight
them because they are mostly nocturnal
creatures.
You spend a night camping in a jungle
environment and here you will be sleeping bythe ever-present cacophony of the sounds of
insects, frogs, birds and an occasional
hooting of monkeys. The river trip ends at
Kampong SETAR from when you return byland
to Gua Musang, the end of the river journey
and adventure to remember. |
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The Nenggiri
rafting expedition is one of Gua Musang's main
eco-tourism offerings together with the impressive
Taman Etnobotani which has made its name as one of
the country's top sites for rock-climbing.
In a move to further promote the expedition,
Kelantan Selatan Development Authority has made the
Nenggiri Challenge an annual affair.
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