22/03/2019
20 Mar 2019. Penang, Malaysia
Get up close to a 130-million-year-old rainforest at The Habitat on Penang Hill. As the rains build from April to October, spring is the ideal time for an authentic tropical rainforest adventure.
Designed to be minimally disruptive, 4x4 vehicles and cable cars transport visitors up to the dense jungle. Everyone from thrill-seekers to elders finds their comfort zone on a nature trail, treetop walk or Aerial Trail to watch as Asian Fairy Bluebirds, Racquet-tailed Drongos, Brahminy Kites and other exotic species fly by.
It took a visionary government to protect this prehistoric ecosystem in 1910, when only the colonial-era ruins of a British Hill Station remained. A century later, the local Cockrell family began developing an eco-tourism attraction on land adjacent to the Government Hill Permanent Forest Reserve.
Scientists estimate the Malaysian rainforest hosts 20 percent of the world's animal species and uncountable plant species. The Habitat's canopy walk, home to Langurs or Dusky Leaf monkeys, provides access to rare wildlife and stunning views of valleys, headlands, the city of Georgetown and the glittering Andaman Sea beyond.
Choosing between a world-class flower festival, Argentine wine harvest or trans-Africa road rally may be tough for travelers, but spring is calling and it's time to make a choice.
