Ulu Geroh

Ulu Geroh is a Semai Orang Asli village in the hills above Gopeng, and it sits in forest holding two things people travel for. Rafflesia, the parasitic plant with the largest single flower in the world - up to about a metre across, with no leaves, stem or roots of its own, living inside a vine and emerging only to bloom for a few days - grows here, and the villagers know where the buds are and how they are developing. And the Rajah Brooke's birdwing, a large black and green butterfly named after the first white rajah of Sarawak, congregates at mineral seeps along the river in numbers. From the early 2000s an ecotourism scheme was set up with the village as guides and beneficiaries, on the argument that the flowers and butterflies are worth more standing than the forest is cleared, and it has held up.

What you actually see

• Rafflesia in bloom - the largest single flower in the world, open for a few days.
• Rajah Brooke's birdwing - the large butterflies gathered at river mineral seeps.
• A Semai-guided scheme - the village paid to find and protect what visitors come for.
• Hill forest above Gopeng - reached by 4WD and a trek.

When to go

All year; blooms are unpredictable. A day.

Honest expectations

Rafflesia flowers open unpredictably and last a few days - there may be nothing open, and any operator promising one is guessing. Contact the village guides ahead. The trek is steep and leech-heavy.

Nearby

Gopeng and the Kampar river rafting are below; Ipoh is north.