The observation hides — Bumbun Tahan, Kumbang and others — are the main method. Built overlooking salt licks and clearings, they are booked for a night, and you sit with a torch waiting for tapir, sambar, wild boar or, extremely rarely, something larger. Success varies enormously; the experience of a night in the forest is worth it regardless.

The canopy walkway near park headquarters, one of the world's longest, puts you above the understorey for birds and gibbons in the early morning before day visitors arrive.

The Tembeling and Tahan rivers, worked by longboat, are where you see kingfishers, hornbills crossing, monitor lizards and otters, and the boat journey in is itself one of the best parts of a visit.

The night walks and drives around the park edge produce civets, colugos, frogs and spiders, and are the most reliable mammal watching available.

The Orang Asli settlements — visited on organised trips — offer an introduction to forest skills from the Batek people who have lived here for generations, though the experience varies with how it is run.

The drier months from February to September make trails and hides more comfortable; the monsoon from November to January brings heavy rain and river closures.

Practicalities

Kuala Tahan is the gateway village, reached by road from Kuala Lumpur in three to four hours or by the classic three-hour boat ride from Kuala Tembeling.

Be wary of operators promising tiger or elephant sightings — both exist here and neither is realistically seeable on a short trip. Come for the forest itself, the hides and the river, and treat any large mammal as an extraordinary bonus. Leeches are abundant after rain.