Explore the Endau Rompin National Park

Located in the southern half of Peninsular Malaysia near the Johor/Pahang border, the Endau Rompin national park is an expansive national park spanning 80,000 hectares and encompassing two rivers, the Endau and the Rompin, after which it has been named.

The park is a protected enclave, which can be visited only with the acquisition of a special permit from the Johor National Park Corporation. Additionally, as it functions an area of conservation, only a few sections of this huge park are open to the public. The lush green paradise of the Endau Rompin national park is home to vast repository of birds, mammals, insects and amphibians, along with numerous plants, herbs and trees, many of which have much medicinal value.

Entrance to the park is not easy and most visitors keen to explore its myriad attractions like tumbling waterfalls and the resident Orang Asli (Jakun) tribe need to be part of a guided tour in order to do so. Various travel operators offer explorations within the Endau Rompin national park, which tend to extend over a few days and offer sightings of exotic and largely endangered Malaysian fauna like the leaf monkeys, Asian elephants, white-handed gibbons, tapirs, deer, long-tailed macaques along with occasional sightings of Malaysian tigers and leopards. The park is in fact believed to be home to the largest remaining population of the highly endangered Sumatran rhinoceros and a sighting of this awe-inspiring beast brings forth much excitement and wonder.

The Endau Rompin national park is equipped with three main access points, two of which are located within the state of Johor, while one is situated in Pahang. Most tour groups access the park from the Johor side and tour the park aboard 4X4 vehicles. Accommodations within the park take the form of rustic chalets, though visitors can also choose to bed down at the dormitories located within the park headquarters.  The park is also equipped with a few campsites and tents are available for hire at its visitor center.

Aside from jungle treks, the guided tours of the Endau Rompin national park usually offer visitors a chance to go tube rafting on the park’s fast-flowing rivers and to experience the thrill of a night safari on foot or aboard a vehicle.

The best time to visit this national park is during the region’s annual dry season (April to October) for the park is closed during the monsoon season (November to March).