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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.