Lambir Hills National Park

Lambir Hills is a low range of sandstone hills covered in mixed dipterocarp forest, and biologists come here because a long-running research plot inside the park has recorded one of the highest tree species counts ever measured in a plot of its size. Visitors come for something simpler: a well-kept trail network from the headquarters leading to a series of waterfalls, the closest of which, Latak, is twenty minutes along a level path and has a pool deep enough to swim in. Longer trails climb to smaller falls and to a viewpoint on the ridge, and the birding around the headquarters clearing is good early, with hornbills usually heard before they are seen.

What you actually see

• Latak waterfall - a broad fall with a swimming pool, twenty minutes from the car park.
• The upper falls - Pantu, Pancur and others reached on longer forest trails.
• The research plot forest - the mixed dipterocarp stand studied for its tree diversity.
• Early morning birding - hornbills and trogons around the headquarters clearing.

When to go

Open all year with no strong dry season. Weekday mornings are best, because the nearest waterfall fills with families at weekends and on public holidays, when the pool can be shoulder to shoulder. Longer trails need an early start, since the climbs are hot and the park closes its trail register in the afternoon.

Honest expectations

Latak is close to the entrance and correspondingly busy, and the longer trails are steeper and muddier than the flat approach suggests. Leeches are common after rain. Facilities are basic, with a small canteen that is not always open, and there is no public transport, so a car or taxi is needed for the run from Miri.

Nearby

Miri is half an hour north; Niah National Park is about ninety minutes down the coast road.