Spend the night in the jungle
In the darkness, among the inner reaches of a forest swarming with life,
humans are very much not top of the tree. This is the wildest sleepover ever
VEN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, THE JUNGLE CAN
feel like an unfathomable place. But spending
the night in the thick of a forest can awaken
our most primal fears. As your surroundings
darken,the chorus of cicadas rises to a near-deafening
buzz. A dull thud on the roof of your hut could be a tree
branch, or a nocturnal animal landing from above. And,
in habitats stalked by big cats, a rustling sound outside
the door at midnight is better left uninvestigated.
A humbling realisation dawns: human rules don’t
apply here. In Southeast Asia’s jungles, where sun bears
tear at tree bark and tapirs mark their territory, people
seem like feeble specimens. Against the Amazon basin’s
400-plus mammal species, we represent a mere speck
within teeming, interlaced ecosystems.
As the hours pass during a night in the jungle, nature
encroaches ever closer: ants march without rest along
the window frame, or a pair of beady eyes outside
catch the light. When a thunderstorm builds to its
ear-splitting crescendo, it becomes clear you’re at the
mercy of nature’s powers.
Gradually, you grow accustomed to the sounds of
the forest. Your eyes adjust to the low light, and senses
feel keener. Amid the jungle’s racket of hooting birds,
croaking frogs and scuttling lizards, sleep can be elusive- but a feeling of awe endures long after dawn breaks.
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