High in the hills of Malaysia’s sparsely populated interior, Taman Negara, due to its easy reach from Kuala Lumpur, takes the top spot of the country’s most visited national park – a 4,323 sq km reserve of primary rainforest, rivers and cloud-fringed mountains. The park's few remaining large mammals, which include elephants, leopards and rhinos, are rarely sighted these days, but it’s still worth the trip to experience the jungle in the raw: the cacophony of insect and bird noise is a revelation if you’ve not been in moist tropical forests before.

A superb canopy walk suspended 30m above the forest floor makes for an adrenalin-fuelled introduction, while rides on wooden longboats take visitors deeper into the park to waterfalls, caves and the start of longer trails, including overnight treks up Gunung Tahan (2,187m / 7,175ft), Peninsular Malaysia’s highest peak. Orang Asli villages where visitors are invited to try their hand at blowpipe hunting and fire making are other attractions.