In Search of Rafflesia in Gunung Gading • World Largest Flower ☏ +608 273 5144

Since I was an elementary school child I was fascinated by the Rafflesia flower. I read about it in books. Measuring one metre across, the Rafflesia's magic is undeniable - it's the largest flower in the world and naturally thrills any curious child.

The first British person to see the Rafflesia was Joseph Arnold whose local servant pointed it out to him in old Bencoolen (today's Bengkulu in southeast Sumatra) in 1818. Arnold dutifully named the majestic flower after his boss, Raffles of the British East India Company, then lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen.

Statue of Raffles at the exact spot where he landed at Singapore River in 1819

Yes, the same Raffles who a year later founded the trading post of Singapore in 1819. School taught us a lot about Raffles, so the big flower named after the great man captured our childhood imagination.

It was a big childhood dream to see a Rafflesia in real life.

Gunung Gading National Park in Lundu District of Kuching Division, state of Sarawak is one of the best places in the world to see the Rafflesia.

When you arrive at Gunung Gading National Park, the first thing to do is to check in and sign in at the park office. Registration is an important safety measure. Anyway, it takes only a minute with the help of friendly park staff. There is a small entrance fee to enter the park.

A park guide is a must before entering into the park. We had Antonia, one of the best guides for Gunung Gading.

Antonia knows Gunung Gading like the back of her hand because she was born and raised right here in the park. Gunung Gading had a few villages before it was gazetted a national park in 1983, and opened to visitors in 1994.

How well does Antonia know Gunung Gading?

Once, Antonia was asked to look for a group of tourists lost in the park. Antonia asked them to take some photos of their surroundings and send them over to her on her phone.

And, sure enough, Antonia was able to pin point their location based on those photos and quickly rescued them.

Antonia not only knows where to go, and what to look for, she knows what we are seeing.

So, let's follow Antonia.

A tractor millipede, the length of my palm.

Lantern bug.

We passed a few spots of fast flowing streams. There are a few waterfalls in Gunung Gading but Antonia didn't take us there as it was drizzling with possible showers.

Where is Antonia taking us off the track?

Some sort of fig. Forgot the name.

A hairy fungus.

A winged dipterocarp seed.

Blue eyed anglehead lizard.

A Rafflesia bud. When spotted, the park ranger will tag it for registration and tracking.

The buds and blooms are caged in a wire dome to protect them from predators such as boars and monkeys.

Got, got, saw a couple of Rafflesia. But already dead and decaying 🥺

The Rafflesia has no specific blooming season but January to March is supposedly a peak blooming time.

A Rafflesia blooms for only about five days, so seeing a blooming flower is partly a matter of luck 可遇不可求. So, hope I have better Rafflesia luck next time.

Though we didn't see any Rafflesia in its full glory this time, we enjoyed our hour long jungle trek thoroughly. Gunung Gading is not only about Rafflesia, it is one of Sarawak's best hiking spots as it is rich in plant and animal life.

I hope to be back to fulfil a childhood dream of meeting a Rafflesia bloom face-to-face.