Malaysia — Hill Top Travel and Tour — Hike to see Rafflesia — Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
A hot, sweaty walk to see a giant flower
August 2015
As part of my guided tour with Hill Top Travel and Tour, there was a hike to see a Rafflesia, a genus of plant that produces some of the planet’s largest flowers. The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots and leads a parasitic lifestyle. For more information about the plant, see Rafflesia’s Wikipedia entry.
The drive to the trailhead took an hour, and the hike was challenging. I was told I would only need 500 ml of water, so I packed 1,000 ml and ran out on the route back.
The hike in took 1 hour and 20 minutes, and we spent around 10 minutes or so looking at the flowers. On the hike in and out, the guide provided no information about the forest and only a 5-minute briefing about the flower once we arrived.
Technically, the hike and the flower were outside the Cameron Highlands area.
The going was challenging.
There was a lot of loose material underfoot, and it was pretty slippery in places. There were also many roots to trip over. A machete had cut back low-hanging material, which unfortunately gave a nice spike at the end of countless small branches at head height. I nearly skewered myself on several occasions.
There were also two rickety bridges to cross and two streams, one of which was quite tricky.
A section of collapsed bamboo impressed me — both for the material’s density and the bamboo’s size.
The black pipes seen in the photo below ran along a lot of the trail and carried fresh water down the mountain to the fields and villages below.
Finally, we arrived at the flower (after 1 hour and 20 minutes in some steamy heat).
And there it was.
The flower looked almost false, but it was real.
This one was coming to the end of its three to four-day flowering period.
We crossed over a stream from the first flower to another area to look at some new buds forming.
The photo below is of a small Rafflesia bud.
There was also a dead Rafflesia nearby.
As well as a larger bud that was still some way off from flowering.
The flowers don’t only grow on the ground but can also be up trees.
Nearby there was also some flowering ginger.
Overall, the hike was very tough, and I would recommend good hiking boots (or good trainers) as the terrain is rugged. I would also recommend, if you are tall, wearing a hat to protect yourself from the trimmed small branches. Finally, carry at least 1,500 ml of water.
Was it worth the effort? At the time, I would say no, as it was hard work, but looking back, I would say yes, it was worth the effort as I got to see one of the genuine oddities of nature in its natural environment, and I got to walk through some pretty amazing forest.
