Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve
Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve
Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve
3.5
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3.5
130 reviews
Excellent
36
Very good
43
Average
32
Poor
10
Terrible
9
Jo-Ann
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia17,192 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
Great experience. We saw the life cycle of the Rafflesia - baby buds, 3 day old bloom, 5 day old bloom, 6 day old bloom, and a dead one! We were there on a muddy and slippery day. Rented boots from the centre for RM4. Guide was RM50. The tour was RM5 per pax. The climb into the forest was a steep but short one. Worth the trip if you can see several Rafflesia. This species is called Rafflesia Pricei. No smell!!!
Written 27 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
trientalis
United States1,839 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
The staff here is absolutely amazing! I contacted them by Whatsapp and they updated me daily on flowering and other details. I couldn't believe the kindness and attention to detail their staff showed in helping us plan our trip. Thank you!
Written 26 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VagabondingSkelley
Brisbane1 contribution
Its a minimum 2 hour return walk into the forest, which gets very muddy, steep and slippery, paths are not marked at all well and there are no maps available. The reception is quite unhelpful unless your prepared to fork out 50ringett for a guide ($20) and even then they might try to extort an entrance fee from you - its a free entry.
Make sure u wear proper walking shoes, plenty of insect repellent, at least 2L of water per person and raincoat. There are plenty of leeches and probably a few snakes as well. Make sure u set off in enough time as they like to close early (2pm), they even closed up and went home after we'd registered leaving us in the forest alone. Fortunately all was good.
Flowers are hard to find but possible to without guide - we saw a very nice one. If u have a good gps with track back function then take it though!!
Make sure u wear proper walking shoes, plenty of insect repellent, at least 2L of water per person and raincoat. There are plenty of leeches and probably a few snakes as well. Make sure u set off in enough time as they like to close early (2pm), they even closed up and went home after we'd registered leaving us in the forest alone. Fortunately all was good.
Flowers are hard to find but possible to without guide - we saw a very nice one. If u have a good gps with track back function then take it though!!
Written 23 April 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelQueenie365
Singapore, Singapore666 contributions
Oct 2011 • Family
You probably seen this flower somewhere in a book or on the internet but never really know where to find it. If you are keen to see the flower, you can actually see it in Kota Kinabalu and you won't regret it!
We actually passby the national park and the locals charged us 20 ringgit for viewing the Rafflesia. The experience was amazing and you should see it!
I am sorry that I have never actually gone into the national park except viewing the Rafflesia flower near the entrance of the national park.
Please click 'Yes' If you think my reviews have been helpful to you.
We actually passby the national park and the locals charged us 20 ringgit for viewing the Rafflesia. The experience was amazing and you should see it!
I am sorry that I have never actually gone into the national park except viewing the Rafflesia flower near the entrance of the national park.
Please click 'Yes' If you think my reviews have been helpful to you.
Written 2 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cellowei
Keningau, Malaysia38 contributions
Feb 2014 • Family
I have tried visit here several time look for the giant flower. For the previous experience, the blooming really depends on your luck. The forest ranger have to patrol every corner of he forest to look for the flower, so they can plot down the location for tourist(not a easy job). Once again, the distance from the centre to the flower also depends on luck, it might be 15min walk, it might also be 2 hour walk. Our trip consist of 4 person, me, my husband and my parents. Luckily the flower is only about 20min walk from the centre. We hire a guide at a price of RM50 as he will be necessary for us to locate the flower. The guide is very knowledgeable, gave us really nice info about the flower. We really appreciate his profession. Actually there's a lot of interesting plants, trees and bamboo to look at during the walk. If you love nature, enjoy it!
Written 14 March 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nur Zunaidah A
Labuan Island, Malaysia435 contributions
Since there are not many Rafflesia Reserve in Malaysia, I can't make a comparison, but based on the effort put into maintaining this centre in the middle of the raiforest,I was quite impressed. The staff will also walk you into the wild to see the flower in blooming season, but the walk can be adventurous- no heels please.......
Written 2 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Country_hopper99
Belgium219 contributions
Jul 2013
We arranged a taxi ouf of KK. After negotiating we agreed on 150 RYM. It takes 1.5 hours to get to the reserve. The reserve closes at 2PM and check updront if they do have flowers blooming! You can check with the tourist information center at KK. Entrance to the reserve is 5MYR pp. They charge another 5MYR for cameras. You pay 100MYR for the guide. You do need a guide as the flowers are in the middle of the forest. You can share this with 5 persons but not many tourists come to this place. In total this trip has cost us 265MYR making this a very expensive flower. We saw 3 flowers. All were on averagw 20cm. According to the guide the real bog flowers were not to be found in this park.
It was nice to see the flower but the experience is not worth this price.
It was nice to see the flower but the experience is not worth this price.
Written 23 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Austyannie
Perth, Australia236 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
We stopped on the way to the Kinabalu National Park, so it didn't cost us extra to actually travel there. There was a RM30 fee to view the bloom however it is a unique experience. The bloom has no roots, or leaves and only blooms once every 18 months or so. The people who charge the fee are the ones who also "tend" the area to encourage more blooms. The one we saw was about one metre diameter. Completely unique and was great to see. A bit of a walk, but worth the effort.
Written 22 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
T_Killeen
T_diddy170 contributions
Sept 2012 • Couples
We got a shared minivan from KK and reluctantly paid the 100 ringgit for the guide and 5 ringgit entrance fee. We thought the guide fee was a little steep but we didn't want to be trekking through what we had heard could be a difficult jungle walk so we paid up. The fee can be shared with a group of up to 6 people apparently but with no other people around we paid it between the two of us.
The guide, armed with a big knife, was nice and friendly and informative. He was pretty fast on the walk but he did ask if the pace was okay or not.
The walk itself was pretty challenging. Neither my partner nor I have much stamina to speak of at the moment so by the end we were exhausted. Rain is common here so the walk can be slippery. The first 5-10 minutes walk are on a concrete path, which then leads on to the jungle floor. We were out there for an hour and a half and saw three flowering rafflesia which made the whole thing worth it.
We finished at around 3pm and waited for our taxi to return. It wasn't until 4pm that it arrived but our guide waited with us until he arrived. He even phoned the driver when we had finished the walk and again when he was late.
He also said they used to have a shop with drinks and food etc. but it had closed due to lack of tourists. I think they are doing a good job with the reserve and I hope they get some more visitors. The trek alone is fun and challenging.
We saw no leeches or mosquitoes and would recommend bringing good walking boots and some water.
The guide, armed with a big knife, was nice and friendly and informative. He was pretty fast on the walk but he did ask if the pace was okay or not.
The walk itself was pretty challenging. Neither my partner nor I have much stamina to speak of at the moment so by the end we were exhausted. Rain is common here so the walk can be slippery. The first 5-10 minutes walk are on a concrete path, which then leads on to the jungle floor. We were out there for an hour and a half and saw three flowering rafflesia which made the whole thing worth it.
We finished at around 3pm and waited for our taxi to return. It wasn't until 4pm that it arrived but our guide waited with us until he arrived. He even phoned the driver when we had finished the walk and again when he was late.
He also said they used to have a shop with drinks and food etc. but it had closed due to lack of tourists. I think they are doing a good job with the reserve and I hope they get some more visitors. The trek alone is fun and challenging.
We saw no leeches or mosquitoes and would recommend bringing good walking boots and some water.
Written 16 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian S
Arnside, UK107 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
Don't set off for this place unless you have definite information that it is open. We could not find out for sure and had a wasted long difficult trip. It looked like it had not been open for a while.
Written 4 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
La Rafflesia si può vedere in questi giorni? È il periodo giusto di fioritura?
Written 18 January 2019
is there a better season. to see the Rafflesia...or can they be seen all year long?
Written 21 November 2016
I saw in March and at that time there we two fully bloomed Rafflesia, 3-4 in blooming stage and 2 dead. Since the flower take 6 months to bloom, there is no as such season. You can check with local tour guide to take you to places where you can see bloomed rafflesia.
Written 28 November 2016
Hi Helen, We are visiting in April and thinking of hiring a car. can you just turn up at the reserve without prior booking ? also what are the roads on the drive up like, are they tarmaced and safe ?
Thanks
Alex
Written 13 March 2016
Can hire a car and drive. Road has some twists and is hilly, but is sealed all the way. Be careful if is wet as can find areas with loads of water on road. Take your time on drive and will be fine. Would suggest that you plan a number of activities rather than just spend upto four hours on a trip for the flowers. Check at Tourist Centre and plan a round trip with a number of options. Enjoy
Written 14 March 2016
Anyone planning to go to the reserve february 22nd or 23rd 2015?
Written 20 February 2015
If you would like to go there I reccomend to contact them before your visit and ask them directly to wait you to be sure that someone will accompany you in reserve. Please note that the guide cost 100 MYR.
Written 20 February 2015
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