The Orang Asli are Malaysia's original inhabitants - Aborigines who sustain a lifestyle based on the rainforest and composed of many different tribes scattered around the country. At Taman Negara, the park is home to one such endangered indigenous tribe - the Batek natives, a nomadic people who have formed a semi-permanent settlement along the river for tourism.
Originally hunters and gatherers, these people now put on a cultural show for tourists that drop by as part of organised tour packages - sharing the skills at blowpipe darting and starting fire from nothing but rattan and small pieces of wood.
