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Taman Negara: the Merapoh entrance

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Taman Negara is the largest park in Peninsular Malaysia and sprawls over three states. Taman Negara has several entrance points with Kuala Tahan being the best known. Taman Negara Merapoh or Taman Negara Sungai Relau is the least well known. GPS reference;  4° 40’50.18” 102 ° 03’25.00 Parks such as Taman Negara should be treated with reverence and a departing glimpse of how the natural world was bearing in mind the uninhibited logging and spreading contagion of palm oil plantations over much of the country. Getting there Merapoh is located along Federal Route 8, around 27 kilometers from Gua Musang, Kelantan. A 7 km road, which has a rather cryptic entrance, from Merapoh undulates through palm plantations to Sungai Relai.  From the Sungai Relau settlement a narrow sealed road crosses a bridge over the Relau River and connects to Kuala Juram. This 14km long road was built during the late 1980s by the Malaysian army. Most people visiting Sungai Relau do so for the pu