Gunung Gading National Park

Gunung Gading exists largely because of one plant. The rafflesia is a parasite with no leaves or stem that spends most of its life inside a vine and then opens a single reddish flower up to a metre across, which lasts a few days and smells of decay. The park keeps boardwalks near the known host sites and staff check them constantly, so the office can tell you on the phone whether anything is open. When nothing is, the park still makes a reasonable half day: a stream with a run of waterfalls, a steep trail up Gunung Gading itself, and lowland forest that sees very few visitors on weekdays.

What you actually see

• A rafflesia in bloom - a single huge flower, open only a few days at a time.
• The waterfall trail - a chain of cascades along the stream behind headquarters.
• The summit path - a steep climb through forest to the ridge above the park.
• The boardwalks - raised walkways protecting the buds around known host vines.

When to go

Blooms occur through the year with no reliable season, though wetter months tend to produce more. Ring the park office the day before rather than turning up hopeful. Weekday mornings are quiet; weekends bring day trips from Kuching, and a rare open flower draws a queue along a narrow boardwalk.

Honest expectations

There is a real chance nothing is in bloom, and the park does not pretend otherwise. When a flower is open the guide fee is compulsory and viewing is from a boardwalk several metres away, often through leaves. The smell up close is genuinely unpleasant. The two-hour drive each way makes a blank day expensive in time.

Nearby

Lundu town and the beaches at Pandan and Siar; Kuching is two hours east.