Orang Asli Indigenous Cultural Experience
Orang Asli or 'Original People' is the collective name for Malaysia's indigenous people comprising of 18 different sub-groups made up of a total of around 178,000 people (around 0.6% of the Malaysian population). Each group has its own unique language, culture and identity but can be broadly clustered into 3 ethnic groups - Negrito, Senoi and Proto-Malay. The majority of Orang Asli have been moved out of their original lands with many settled in rural areas on forest edges but many maintain a distinct cultural identity and way of life.
We are offering you opportunities to meet people from two of these groups and gain an insight into their unique ways of life. These are authentic Orang Asli villages away from the tourist trail where you can gain an exclusive insight into life in Malaysia's rainforests and follow some of the usual daily activities of the jungle's earliest human societies.
Batek Day Trips
Temiar 3 Day 2 Night Trip
Coming Soon!!
Inquire for future bookings
The Batek people are from the Negrito group and historically are considered to be true forest people having inhabbited the rainforests of this region for tens of thousands of years. The Batek currently have a population of around 1500 individuals the majority of whom now live in or around Taman Negara National Park. Many have been settled into villages on forest edges although some groups still retain their nomadic lifestyle deep within the park.
Bencah Kelubi is a small village located close to Merapoh home to around 60 Batek people. This group have been settled in a permanent village but still retain their nomadic roots, often moving into the forest for extended periods, setting up traditional shelters, particularly when the weather is hot. The villagers now do some farming and trading with their Malay neighbours but are still most at home in the jungle where they undertake many of their traditional practices, such as hunting with blowpipes as well as forraging for food and other forest products including rottan and building materials.
We are offering you the opportunity to meet some of the Batek people in their natural environment and explore Malaysia's tropical rainforest with some of its earliest peoples. There are two options available:
Learn about Malaysia's rainforest from the Batek men on an interprative trek through the jungle where they will tell you about the traditional uses for trees and plants that you find along the way and may even collect things that they need. You will stop in a suitable place to try your hand at making blowpipe darts and flights and then later try your aim shooting blowpipes and trying out your own dart to see how straight it flies! You will be amazed at the Batek men's skills which have been passed down countless generations. We will pause for a tea-break where you can help to build a fire and make cups from bamboo while enjoying the tranquility of the jungle and the calming peaceful nature of the Batek people.
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Follow the Batek ladies on their regular forraging trips into the forest. Every trip is different depending on the season and what we discover so this adventure is always full of surprises. The ladies may collect Rottan or Nipah leaves for building or fruits from the trees, often Ubi (a kind of tuber rather like cassava and a favourite of the Batek!) is found and dug out, or occassionally the ladies come across a jungle rat which they will try to smoke out of its hole or catch fish in the river. Nothing is certain on these trips but it is always interesting to observe the ladies and get involved helping with whatever activity they do that day. The ladies will always find beautiful forest flowers to wear in their hair and we will stop for a unique tea-break Batek style, where you can help to make bamboo cups and enjoy tea or coffee made with water heated in bamboo over the fire in the rainforest!
The Termiar people are from the Senoi group and historically consider themselves to be people who live in clear areas surrounded by forest and traditionally practice slash and burn subsistence cultivation as well as hunting and gathering from the forest. Today they number around 14-20,000 people many of whom are in larger settlements even within cities such as KL as Temiars in general have integrated much more into modern society than Batek people although while still retaining a proud identity.
Kampung Halak is a small village in Kelantan about 3 hours drive off-road from Gua Musang in the forests of Malaysia's Central Range. The village is split into 5 smaller settlements each home to a handfull of families in clearings surrounded by plantations and forest.
We are offering you the opportunity to visit one of these settlements in the remote Kelantan hills. Relax in the peaceful serenity of this picturesque village full of flowers and birdsong on the banks of a crystal clear river and trek to a series of stunning waterfalls. Learn about the Temiar way of life from these incrediblly warm and welcoming people, try their traditional fishing method, test your blowpipe skills, swim in the river and soak in the easy-going lifestyle of these unique people.