SEA-15-Book 1.indb

MALAYSIA

PENINSULAR INTERIOR •• Jerantut lonelyplanet.com

lady and her family, this is a quiet choice

with simple, clean rooms and dorms.

NKS Hostel (21-22 Jln Besar; d incl breakfast with/without

shower RM50/35) Run by the same folks as Sri

Emas, NKS has clean, tiled rooms, and all

the NKS buses to Kuala Tahan and Kuala

Tembeling (for the boat) stop right out-

side the restaurant and internet cafe on the

ground floor.

Getting There & Away

BOAT

Motor-run canoes make the scenic journey

between Kuala Tembeling and Kuala Tahan.

Travel agents sell combination tickets that

include transfer from Jerantut to the jetty and

ferry to Kuala Tahan.

For more information on boats to Kuala

Tahan, see p489.

BUS & TAXI

The bus station and taxi stand are in the cen-

tre of town.

Most people arriving in Jerantut want to

head directly to the Kuala Tembeling jetty

(where boats leave for Taman Negara ). To

do this, follow the NKS representative, who

meets arriving buses and trains and organ-

ises minibus transfers (RM5) from Jerantut

to Kuala Tembeling.

You can also skip the boat journey and

hop on a Kuala Tahan–bound bus (signed as

‘Latif’; RM7, one to two hours, four daily);

Kuala Tahan is the base-camp village for

Taman Negara. You save money by doing

this, although many travellers cite the voyage

upriver from Kuala Tembeling as a highlight

of visiting Taman Negara.

Alternatively, you can hire a taxi to Kuala

Tembeling (RM20 for the entire car) or to

Kuala Tahan (RM65).

When you are ready to get the hell out of

Jerantut, there are several daily buses to/from

KL’s Pekeliling bus station (RM17, 3 hours) via

Temerloh (last bus to/from Jerantut 5/4pm). If

you miss the bus to KL, buses go every hour to

Temerloh (RM5, one hour, last bus 6.30pm),

from where there are more connections to KL

and other destinations. Three daily buses run

to/from Kuantan (RM16, 3½ hours). One bus

runs daily to Johor Bahru (RM38).

NKS arranges minibuses and buses to a

variety of destinations, including KL (RM40),

Perhentian Island Jetty (RM65), Kota Bharu

(RM65) and Cameron Highlands (RM65),

all of which leave from the NKS cafe.

Long-distance taxis go to Temerloh (RM50),

KL (RM200) and Kuantan (RM180).

TRAIN

Jerantut is on the Jungle Railway (Tumpat–

Gemas line; see above ). The train station is

off Jln Besar, just behind Hotel Sri Emas. For

the famed jungle view, catch the northbound

JUNGLE RAILWAY

This line trundles into the mountainous, jungle-clad interior, stopping at every ramshackle kam-

pung, packing in chattering school children and headscarfed women lugging oversized bundles.

Travellers’ reports range from awe of the natural splendour and amusement with the local cama-

raderie to boredom and irritation with the rickety carriages and dirty windows. If you’re in good

company and have a lot of time, then there are worse ways to travel between Pulau Perhentian

and Taman Negara.

The northern terminus is Tumpat, but most travellers start/end at Wakaf Baharu, the closest

station to the transport hub of Kota Bharu. The train departs from Wakaf Baharu on its south-

bound journey around (ouch!) 4am (to get the children to school on time) and it reaches Jerantut,

the jumping-off point for Taman Negara, anywhere from eight to 11 hours later (RM13). Trains

invariably run late. The journey continues south to Gemas (RM19), meeting the Singapore–KL

train line. By far the most interesting leg of the ride is between Wakaf Bahru and Gua Musang –

south of Jeruntut the forest becomes a stretch of palm oil and rubber plantations that gives you

an idea of how vast deforestation is on the peninsula.

There are also express trains that travel at night, but that would defeat the purpose of see-

ing the jungle. Note that information on these local services aren’t available on the KTM railway

website and you cannot book tickets online. The train’s schedule changes every six months, so

it pays to double-check departure times locally.

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