Sarawak Gunung Gading National Park (Rafflesia) Tour

Gunung Gading is home to the world’s largest flower, the rafflesia, which can grow up to one metre in diameter. When in bloom the flower gives off a nasty smell which attracts flies and other insects. The rafflesia has no specific season but the rainy season provides better blooming frequencies. It takes nine months to mature and flowering lasts only 4 or 5 days before dying.
Located about 45km from Kuching City. The park gazette in 1989 with a total area of 2,230 hectares is primarily composed of sand stone, slit stone and shale. Forest composed of mixed diptercarp interspersed with patches of scrub forest. The park is a home for large and varied animal community and reptiles. The park is also rich in palm and orchids. These are trails to choose raging from half an hour to 3 hours namely Waterfall, Selang Trail , Summit Trail and Ulu Rayu Trail which leads you to the Matang Wildlife Centre.
Tour start and drive about 2hrs from Kuching City to Gunung Gading National Park. A trip to Gunung Gading may be incomplete without catching the rare sight of the blooming ‘Raffesia’. However, these unique plants bloom infrequently and have brief flowering period. Gading is the home to numerous rare plants including the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia tuan-mudae (bunga pakma) at full bloom this giant flower stretches nearly one meter in width. The flowers can be found on specific vines like the host plant and develop into a bud which then becomes a gigantic flower, brownish red in colour. It stays in full bloom for about a week only. The main pollinator for this flower is the carrion fly. A comfortable plank walk makes the area where Rafflesia is commonly found accessible. The plank walk looms from a loop, which takes about one hour to complete, allowing time to enjoy the forest scenery along the way. Park rangers may be able to take you on a guided walk to a Rafflesia site and may even take you deeper into the forest if the plant is flowering there.