Penang Forest Park Trail
The following trails listed below all start from a common point and then divert onto different points within the forest reserve. Hikers need not worry about getting lost because the trails are marked with clear signs giving short explanations or story lines at 21 stops. In addition, forest rangers provide free tours and useful tips. The fifth trail is a separate product because of the distance covered and stamina required. We start with the easiest and work upwards:
o Level 1. Monkey-Cup Forest Trail: Distance: 800 metres, Duration: 1 to 1.5 hours, 5 station stops.
This short and easy trail, suitable for all age groups, allows trekkers a glimpse of the flesh-eating plant known as the monkey cup or pitcher plant in English, or pokok periuk kera in Malay. Botanists describe the pitcher plant, which belongs to the Sarraceniaceae family, as having leaves modified into pitchers in which insects are trapped and digested by means of liquids secreted by the leaves. The plant is harmless however and some people in Sarawak even use the plant to cook rice in. Other uses of the pitcher plant are in the treatment of high blood pressure, diarrhoea, cough and fever.
Other trees along the trail are the nyatoh taban merah (the sap was once used as a colouring agent), the meranti melantai, keruing (its resin is used as a base for ointments, perfumes and paints), bertam, the calophyllum sp. (this plant holds a potential cure for AIDS, says the Forestry Dept) saga, kapur and rengas kerbau jalang (the tree produces an irritating black sap).
o Level 2. Simpoh Gajah Trail: 1,240 metres, 2 to 2.5 hours, 7 station stops.
This trail is described as of average difficulty and is recommended for all ages. It is similar to Trail 1 but hikers pass through an area designated as virgin jungle reserve. This trail is named after the simpoh gajah, a tree whose stilt roots resemble the shape of an elephant's trunk. An interesting feature of this tree is the hissing sound it makes when its bark is cut. Trekkers get to see such a tree during the hike.
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