Luagan Lalak Forest Recreation Park

Luagan Lalak is an alluvial freshwater swamp on the Labi road in Belait district that floods to a shallow lake in the wet months and dries back to grass and sedge in drier ones, so it looks like two entirely different places depending on when you arrive. A boardwalk runs out from the road to a platform over the water. Herons, kingfishers and hornbills use the surrounding forest.

Background

The park lies in Mukim Labi, within the Labi Hills forest reserve, and is run by the Forestry Department. Unlike many recreational forests that take in disturbed or planted woodland, it remains a natural wetland. The swamp, known locally as an empran, covers 270 hectares of dark water and broad stands of Lepironia articulata, or purun, a grass-like plant with three-sided stems and small flowers. A wooden bridge 200 metres long crosses the swamp, and there are three gazebos. The park was set up in 1980, developed further by the Forestry Department in 1998, and had received over 81,000 visitors by May 2018. No public transport reaches it.

Source: Wikipedia, "Luagan Lalak Forest Recreation Park"

What you'll find

• The seasonal lake - water in the wet months, grass and sedge in the dry.
• The boardwalk - the walkway running out from the road over the swamp.
• The platform - the viewing point at the end of the walkway.
• The forest birds - herons, kingfishers and hornbills around the edges.

When to go

Year round, but the swamp is flooded and most photogenic from around November to February. Drier months leave it as grassland. Mornings are best for birds.

What to expect

In the dry months there is no lake at all, which disappoints people expecting water. Facilities amount to a car park and the boardwalk. Mosquitoes are severe near the water.

Nearby

Labi is south, and Seria is north.

Key facts