From the upper slopes of Titiwangsa Mountains at Cameron Highlands, Jelai river flows in a southeasterly direction, passing through Padang Tengku and Kuala Lipis before merging with Tembeling river. Tembeling River which begins at Pahang and Terengganu state border at Ulu Tembeling, flows in a southwesterly direction passing through Kuala Tahan. Pahang River flows in a southerly direction passing through Jerantut Feri, Kuala Krau, Kerdau and Temerloh. At Mengkarak, the river turns to the northeast, passing through Chenor and then turning east at Lubuk Paku and Lepar into the floodplain of Paloh Hinai, Pekan and Kuala Pahang before draining into the South China Sea. From the source to the mouth, Pahang River basin comprises almost all the districts in Pahang, including Cameron Highlands, Lipis, Jerantut, Temerloh, Bera, Maran and Pekan. Lipis River, a tributary of Jelai River, begins at Pahang and Perak state border in Ulu Sungai, Raub district and ends at the confluence of Jelai River and Lipis River at Kuala Lipis. Semantan River, a tributary of Pahang River begins in Bentong district and ends at the confluence of Pahang River and Semantan River at Kuala Semantan. Triang River and Bera River, tributaries of Pahang River begin at Jelebu and Jempol district of Negeri Sembilan state while Lepar River, another tributary of Pahang River, passing through Kuantan district in the east before ending at the confluence of Pahang River and Lepar River at Paloh Hinai. The only district in Pahang that does not have a tributary of the Pahang River or have Pahang River flowing through it is Rompin.
History
The banks of Pahang River were settled as early as 1400 by warriors and seafarers from around Maritime Southeast Asia including places such as Aceh, Riau, Palembang and Sulawesi. The earliest historical records of Pahang River, the riverine inhabitants or the people of Pahang were found in the Malay Annals and Hikayat Munshi Abdullah.
Early transportation role
The Pahang and Muar Rivers were nearly connected at a place called Jempol, in Negeri Sembilan as the Serting River flows into the Bera River, a tributary of the Pahang River. Jempol River flows into Muar River. Trading boats from the Muar could continue their journey until they reached Kuala Pahang in Pekan, or Kuala Lipis to continue into Terengganu, Kelantan or Perak.
Natural history
During the Pleistocene epoch or Mesolithic period about 10,000 years ago, there was a 5 degrees Celsius drop in the global temperature. At mountaintops, snow accumulated as ice caps and glaciers, thus disrupting the global hydrological cycle. Due to lack of water discharge into the sea, the sea level was 120 meters lower than it is today. The South China Sea dried up, exposing the Sunda Shelf and previous deep trenches became huge ancient rivers called the North Sunda River. Mainland Asia, the Malay Peninsular, Sumatra and Java became connected to Borneo via the landbridge of exposed Sunda Shelf. The North Sunda River provided vital connection to Mekong River in Vietnam and Chao Phraya River in Thailand to the north, Baram and Rajang rivers in Sarawak to the east and Pahang River and Rompin River to the west of the massive land mass. Freshwater catfishes from those rivers migrated and mated to exchange their genetic materials about 10,000 years ago. Thus, after the Holocene, when the temperature increased, a substantial amount of the ice that had accumulated melted, increasing sea levels, inundating the landbridges and Sunda River, thus isolating the catfish populations. However, their genetic motives are still in the DNA as an evidence of the previous connections of Pahang River to other isolated rivers in Indochina and Borneo.
Towns and Bridges
Jerantut is 15 km from the confluence of Jelai river and Tembeling River. Temerloh is situated on the confluence between Semantan River and Pahang River. The town of Pekan, which is Pahang's royal town, is situated on the southern bank of the river, near the river mouth. There are 7 bridges were built across the river. The bridges are Abu Bakar Bridge in Pekan, Paloh Hinai bridge of Tun Razak Highway in Paloh Hinai, Chenor Bridge in Chenor, new Temerloh Bridge in Temerloh, Semantan Bridge of East Coast Expressway in Sanggang, Sultan Ahmad Shah Bridge in Kuala Krau and Sultan Abdullah Bridge in Jerantut Feri. Bera is the only district on Pahang River watershed that has no bridge crossing the river.
