If you looking for a real village experience in Kota Kinabalu. Then drop by Tagal Tinopikon Park which is 45 minutes drive away from Kota Kinabalu city centre. The village is located beside Moyog River and this section is under Tagal System ( means prohibition in Kadazandusun language) run by the community at Kampung Notorusss. Kampung Notoruss is make up of 4 villages ( Nounggon, Tolungan, Ruganding and Sangai Sangai. Most of the community at Kampung Notoruss is of Kadazandusun ethnic. Sabah Fisheries department had successfully introduced and implemented the tagal system in 2000, as a smart partnership between local people and the department in managing fish resources. At Tagal Tinopikon Park, we can see how Tagal system successfully run by the community and in turn generate revenue to the community through tourism activities.
Visitors will have to cross the river by the suspension bridge to reach Tagal Tinopikon Park
Tagal Tinipikon Park is run and manage by the local community with the help from tour operator. The guide and staff working here are all locals from the community within Kampung Notoruss.
kids playing at Moyog river beside their village.
We start our tour by visiting some of villagers house. The traditional house is build on high stilt using materials from the nature. Great opportunity to look at the life of villagers and and tools used in their daily life.
we get to try rubber tapping. Some of the villagers still collecting rubbers from the trees around the village.
Our guide, Sobinah lead us to discover the nature trail near the village. We saw some pitcher plant many weird fruits and plant which we never seen or heard of before alongside the trail.
Jackfruit hanging on the tree. Now I know how a jackfruit tree look like
the nature trail leads us to a small waterfall. The water at the pond near the waterfall is crystal clear. Great place for swimming during hot day.
After spending around 1 hour on the nature trail, We take a rest and wait for lunch to be served. The villagers cook at this simple kitchen using a combination of gas stove and firewood. The meat and vegetables served for our lunch are from the community. Only the fish is not from the river. They also serve great Coffee and tea cooked using water from the river.
We bought some Kasigui seed to feed the fish. Local call this bunch of seeds Helekopter
After lunch, visitors get to feed the fish at the river. The fish are used to the presence of humans and love to swim around us during the feeding. First time visitor may feel imitated by the size of the fish but once you get use to it, you will love these gentle and toothless fish. The lips of the fish is soft and they love sucking on the leg and hand. We never get bored with fish kiss!
Tagal Tinopikon Park is a great place for relaxation and discover nature. We can do nothing just relax beside the river feeding the fish and talking to the locals. we can see a lot of effort being put in by the community to make Tagal Tinopikon Park a great place to visit and certainly looking forward to visit this great place again.
Tagal Tinopikon Park is operated by A & J Best Travel and there are 2 session for the tour.
9.30 am to 1 pm
2pm to 5:30 pm
You can get visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ajbesttravelsb
Photos and writeup by Http://www.adamlai.com
