Heading to Taman Negara? Fantastic choice. It’s great to see Malaysia’s ancient jungle interior. At 130 million years old, it’s amazing.
A great way to enjoy and see this rainforest at all its levels is on the Taman Negara Canopy Walkway. At 550 metres long and up to 45 metres high, there is plenty to see here.
What’s also great about the Taman Negara Canopy Walk is that it’s not far from the headquarters. It only takes about 30 minutes to reach here on a boardwalk. About 2/3 of the walk is flat. So, it’s easy to visit if you’re not a big trekker.
You can visit this canopy walkway on a tour, or it is easy to visit yourself. Keep reading for all the details and a Taman Negara Canopy Walkway review so you can work out what to expect and whether this is the right attraction for you. Take a look at the video as well to see exactly what it’s like.
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Taman Negara Canopy Walk [2024]
There are really two parts to this experience – the walk to the Taman Negara Canopy Walk and then the walk itself.
All up, this takes about an hour and a quarter with a half hour solid walk in each direction and then the canopy walk itself. It took us longer as we turned around at one point and went back when we shouldn’t have, so make sure you read the section below so you don’t make the same mistakes as we did.
The Walk To The Canopy Walk
To start your canopy walkway experience, you first need to walk here. It’s about 1.7 kilometres from the Park Headquarters and it takes about 30 minutes to hike. It’s also possible to hire a boat to take you most of the way here if you are really short on time.
The first part of the walk is through the Mutiara Taman Negara Resort past most of the chalets. You then enter the park. This part is very easy.
Once you are in the park, the path is in reasonable condition on wooden boards with stairs for the slopes. It’s also well signposted, although we did find a couple of things tricky.
The biggest thing to note is that there is a turn off at one point where the sign shows the canopy walkway being in both directions. This is because one way is the start of the canopy walk and one way is the end.
Make sure you turn to the left at this junction and walk up the stairs instead of walking straight ahead.
This will take you to start of the walkway.
There are a lot of stairs uphill to get to the start after you make this turn.
When we visited, parts of the boardwalk needed repairing so be careful where you step. It was not so bad and everything held together.
There was a section on the uphill part which was taped off. When we first hit this, we thought the path was closed and we should have gone the other way so we walked all the way back down, just to find out that we should have walked around this section!
So we had to walk back up again.
Moral to this story, if it looks taped off, you may just need to walk around and keep going!
The Canopy Walk
We visited the Taman Negara Canopy Walk just before it closed in the afternoon. It was great. No one was around at all.
I have read that in the morning it can be quite busy with day trippers and tours so it’s best to avoid this time if you can. There can be a queue when busy as groups have to stand ten metres apart at all times and only four people can be on each bridge at a time.
There was a person at the start of the walkway to check our tickets (make sure you buy them at the Park Centre before walking here – more information below) and to check that we had the entry permits for the park.
Once entering the walkway, there are multiple rope bridges with wooden planks to walk on between the trees. At each changeover point, there is a platform where you can stand, wait and take everything in.
These are varying heights above the rainforest floor getting up to 45 metres high.
The bridges do move and, as someone who hates heights, it can be a little trying 🙂 My kids, who aren’t bothered by them, thought it was the best thing ever though.
All up, the walk is about 550 metres long. It is great and the time went by quickly as we enjoyed it a lot. It took us about 15 minutes to walk it and take it all in.
I had read before going that along the way, the platforms between the bridges are staffed by park rangers, but this wasn’t the case when we did this.
I also read that there are also information boards on the wildlife and birds you may be able to spot as you walk along. However, I did not see any of these either on the canopy walk or on the path here.
You get a great look at the canopy with plenty of different flora to see. Bird watchers will want to keep a look out for different birds too.
At the end, you walk on sloping downhill bridges as well as some stairs to get to the final building and back on the rainforest floor.
A short walk after getting back down, there are toilets.
The walk back to the Park Centre is mostly flat so it’s easier than the walk up.
Taman Negara Canopy Walkway With Kids?
I visited this walkway with two of my kids aged 6 and 11.
This was a great activity for them. They whined a little before going about hiking, but it was easy and enjoyable so they soon shut up and had a good time 🙂
We were all dripping with sweat by the end. It’s very humid here!
I had read somewhere beforehand that the minimum age is 7 for this, but we did not come across this when here.
Taman Negara Canopy Walkway Video Overview
You can see a quick overview of what it’s like in Taman Negara in the following video including on the Canopy Walk.
We walk you through the journey here from KL, staying at the Mutiara Taman Negara and some of the most popular activities. This includes the Canopy Walk as well as Lata Berkoh and visiting an Orang Asli settlement.
You can find more videos like this on our YouTube channel. Please subscribe here!
Where Is Canopy Walk Taman Negara, Pahang?
The canopy walkway is a 30-minute walk from the Taman Negara Park Headquarters. It’s well signposted and easy to reach.
To visit Taman Negara, you first need to get to Kuala Tahan and then take a quick boat ride across the Tembeling River. You can read more about getting to Taman Negara here.
Opening Hours
The opening hours for the Taman Negara Canopy Walkway are 10am to 3pm daily. The last entrance was at 2:45pm when we visited. It shuts in bad weather.
It is closed on Fridays, and it can be closed at times for maintenance and repair.
Taman Negara Canopy Walkway Ticket Prices
At the time of publishing, the walkway costs RM5 for an adult and RM3 for kids. You also need to pay for entry to Taman Negara which is currently RM1 per person, but expected to rise soon.
You need to buy your tickets at the Park Centre on your way here. After you cross the river, it is easy to find the Park Centre. It is inside the Mutiara Taman Negara Resort.
Final Words
The Taman Negara Canopy Walkway is an easy and great place to visit when you head to Taman Negara. It should definitely be on your must-visit list.
The walk here is nice, seeing the different levels of the tree canopy is great, and it’s just fun. Winning! It’s one of the easiest walks in the park and I found it suitable for kids my age. There are a lot of stairs so it’s going to be harder for younger kids.
It was very humid when we visited, but we did not find mosquitoes or leeches to be a problem.
The only thing I found annoying was the tape across the path which confused us, and the sign that said the canopy walkway is in both directions. It would be handy if one was labelled “Start of the Canopy Walk”. All I can say is, make sure you turn left!
There is no need to do a tour, although I’m sure a guide could add more to the experience.
Looking for other things to do in Taman Negara? Find our full guide here. You can also find our full guide to where to stay in Taman Negara here and our full guide to Taman Negara here. You can also listen to our podcast episode all about Taman Negara here..
Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!
