Ulu Temburong

Ulu Temburong National Park, in the Temburong District in the far east of Brunei, was established in 1991 as the country's first national park^[1]. It lies within the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve and is a lowland rainforest, reachable only by river. Sources give its size between about 489 and 550 square kilometres.

The eastern grey gibbon, a fully arboreal species of the canopy, is the best-known mammal, and smooth-coated otters live on the Temburong River. Birds include the bushy-crested and rhinoceros hornbills and the black-and-yellow broadbill, and about 400 butterfly species have been recorded, among them Rajah Brooke's birdwing^[1]. BirdLife International has designated a 70,000-hectare Important Bird Area covering the park and extensions into Batu Apoi.

Lowland and hill forests are dipterocarp forest, dominated by trees of the genera Shorea, Dryobalanops and Dipterocarpus, with lower montane forest mainly in the south and mangroves along the coast. Rattan, gingers, begonias and aroids grow in the understorey, and riverbanks carry palms, ferns, mosses and lichens^[1].

The southern part of the park is hilly, with mountains rising to 1,800 m, while the northern slopes are lowland and the terrain includes a coastal region. The principal rivers are the Temburong and the Belalong^[1].

Like the rest of Brunei, the park has a hot, humid equatorial climate with rain through the year, which sustains its evergreen rainforest.

The Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, run by Universiti Brunei Darussalam, was established in 1990 about 500 m from the mouth of the Belalong River and supports research, teaching and environmental education^[1].

The park was set up in 1991 as Brunei's first national park inside the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve and is managed by the Forestry Department. It is described as the finest example of the sultanate's forest protection policy^[1].

About 7 km of boardwalks, bridges and stairways with interpretation boards reach all regions of the park. Its best-known attraction is a canopy walkway, supported by steel towers and cableways, that rises 50 m above the forest floor and above the highest canopy^[1].

The park is reached by boat to Bangar, road to Batang Duri, then a longboat up the Temburong River, steered by Iban boatmen around sand bars, logs and boulders. The National Park Headquarters is near the confluence of the Belalong and Temburong rivers, and Ulu Ulu Resort, opened in November 2008, was the only accommodation inside the park; guests booked a tour package from Bandar Seri Begawan, and operations were suspended in June 2020^[1].

The Forestry Department of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism manages the park, which is part of the Heart of Borneo international conservation agreement^[1].