Gunung Gading, rising behind the town of Lundu on Sarawak's west coast, exists above all for one astonishing plant: Rafflesia tuan-mudae, the world's largest flower, which erupts from its host vines in blooms up to a metre across. Each flower lasts only a few days and blooming is unpredictable — which is exactly what makes catching one feel like winning a lottery.
Rafflesia or not, the park earns the trip: waterfall-cooled streams stack up along the Waterfall Trail, and tougher paths climb through rich lowland forest toward the summits of Gunung Gading itself.