ASEAN FEATURES -- If you haven't visited any of the protected heritage parks and reserves in Southeast Asia, you don't know what you have been missing.

    A tour of the  ASEAN Heritage Parks and Reserves is a travel in time -- deep into Mother Nature's secret some as old as 130 million years.

    Whether you are a tired businessman in need of rest, to a tireless mountaineer or the nature lover -- you will be eager to enjoy and study the ASEAN heritage parks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia,Lao PDR, Myanmar, and even Singapore.

    Three of the world's mega-biodiverse (referring to all the living part of our environment) countries are found in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

    The mountains in the region are awe-inspiring and so are the other ecosystems: beach forest, swamp areas, lowland rainforest, alpine and mountain forest.

    Where will you find the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia, and the tallest, the Amorphophallus?

    The ASEAN Heritage Parks and Reserves boasts of one of the few remaining equatorial glaciers in the world. And also one of the world's oldest rainforest, said to be 130 million years old, is  found in the region.

    If you are tired of the concrete jungle, of visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, or the Arco de Treomphe, why don't you gather some gumption, join us and visit some of the ASEAN parks and reserves?

    For a start why don't we hike to Indonesia's largest (950,000 hectares) and most diverse national park -- the Leuser National Park. This is the only place on earth where four of the world's spectacular animals -- the orangutan, rhinoceros, elephant and tiger -- are found together. This park represents each of the character of beach and swamp forest, lowland rainforest, montane or moss forest up to sub alpine forest.

    Indonesia's Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra is home to a staggering diversity of flora and fauna. More than 4,000 plant species grow in the park area, including the world's largest and the tallest flowers.

    The Lorentz National Park also in Indonesia contains one of the most complete spectrums of undisturbed habitats in the world. From snow-capped Mt. Jaya, Indonesia's tallest mountain, the park covers 15,000 km of pristine wilderness with estimated 639 bird species, 123 mammal species and one of the few remaining equatorial glaciers in the world.

    Yearly, thousands of tourists visit Kinabalu Park to enjoy its climatic, scenic, and floral and fauna splendors. It has beauty, splendor and charm to delight any category of visitors.

    Malaysia offers one of the oldest rainforests in the world. The Taman Negara National Park is said to be 130 million years old where evidence of human habitation almost 2,000 years ago came in the discovery of bronze artifacts.

    The Philippine eagle is the most important bird species in Mt. Apo, the country's highest peak in the island of Mindanao and the whole of Philippines. Unfortunately, Mt. Apo has been listed in the ASEAN List of Critical Areas for Conservation since the forests are under intense pressure from upland agriculture and a continuing influx of settlers and illegal loggers.

    Thailand's Khao Yai National Park contains the biggest and most pristine rain forest in Asia, a treasure that has made it an ASEAN National Heritage Site. The park is host to 2,500 plant species, 67 different kinds of mammals and over 300 species of birds. Wildlife includes many endangered mammals such as elephants, gibbons, tigers, leopards and Malaysian sun bears.

    Visiting Myanmar's (Burma) Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park is a challenge: it can only be reached on elephant back. Yet, 30,000 pilgrims visit the park annually for Buddha's most saintly discipline -- called Kathapa -- whose reclining figure is an object of veneration.

    Southeast Asia has a lot more to offer to nature lover, to the harried businessman who seek peace and quiet, and to the adventurous; but these samplers are enough to start off one packing for a journey into time. (ASEAN Features) JV/JMR

* Iluminado Varela, Jr is an independent writer commissioned by the ASEAN Secretariat