Trailguide MalaysiaA listing of trails in Malaysia |
On the trails in Desaru, Dec 2000. |
Disclaimers
The information provided on this page may be inaccurate, incomplete or outdated. Please use with abundant caution and liberal applications of common sense.Introduction
This trailguide is intended to provide information on trails in and around Malaysia, in addition to the trails in hash areas. Directions to hash areas can be obtained from the Hash Sites page. While no specific descriptions of the trails within the hash area are given on the Hash Sites page, you should be able to figure something out. Hashes tend to be set in rubber or oil palm estates, which are criss-crossed by networks of trails. However, be careful that you don't get lost if you are unfamiliar with the area. You should at least use a compass. A GPS receiver is also a good idea.Topographical maps of peninsular Malaysia may be obtained from Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan (Survey and Mapping department) located at the following address:
Map Sales Office,
Department of Survey and Mapping
Jalan Semarak
50578 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (603)-2692 5311, extension 2602
Email: mapline@jupem.gov.my
www.jupem.gov.my
(On Jalan Tun Razak, from the Parliament heading towards the City, turn left in Jalan Semarak (Gurney Road) just past the National library. Turn right at the next traffic lights. The building (Wisma Tanah) will be on your left, and is visible from a loooong way off.)
The maps available for sale to the public do not yet cover the whole of peninsular Malaysia. The most useful ones are in a 1:50,000 scale with 100m contour intervals. Restricted maps with 20m contour intervals are available to Malaysian citizens who pass a security clearance with the Ministry of Home Affairs. I heard that the security clearance procedures involve a cavity search.
KLMBH welcomes your contribution to this page. If you would like to post a review of your favourite trail, please e-mail me.
On to the trails:
KLANG VALLEY RIDES
Bukit Kiara
Brilliant network of technical trails smack in the middle of the KL-PJ cornubation. Certainly one of the most enjoyable and demanding collection of trails that Speedy has ever wagged her tail at. All these trails require a minimum level of fitness to overcome the initial climbs, but those who perservere are rewarded with such sweet and technical singletrack that you will wonder why you would ever want to ride elsewhere. A tip of the helmet to Pigpen, whose selfless toil we still enjoy.Update 9/7/02: A trailguide, with recommended route for first-timers and a map of Kiara, now completed:
Bukit Kiara by Casper
Sungai Buloh/RRI
Many veteran mountain bikers cut their teeth here when they were just starting out on mountain biking. Although slightly lacking in the back-to-nature department (being fodder for mosquitoes doesn't count), the RRI area has sufficient variety of trails to cater for beginners and advanced/deranged riders alike. The site of many races, including the 2001 SEA Games MTB course. Access through Tropicana Golf and Country Club, or across the road from the main gate of the Rubber Research Institute on Jalan Batu Tiga (about 400m from where the Subang Airport road intersects it).FRIM
The Forest Research Institute in Kepong has a number of interesting and scenic trails set in the forest reserve. The tall canopies of dipterocarps (literally, "two-winged seed", a family of tropical hardwood forest trees) provide ample shade and ensure a pleasant, even if not hardcore, ride. The main trail is the Rover Track, with other subsidiary (and sometimes overgrown) trails branching off it. Click here for directions to FRIM and for a map of its trails, and click here for a short description of each, all of which link to the FRIM website.Update (06/03/02): A race, Kayuhan Belantara, was held in FRIM in 2001, for which a section of trail was cut. It is quite technical, and very different from the other trails in the area. The trail starts from a 4wd track (accessible from behind the ethno-botany garden) and exits onto the Rover track. The trailhead can hardly be seen from the Rover track. If you ride it in the reverse direction of the race (ie towards the Rover track) you will avoid the hike-a-bike section and will instead be rewarded with a nice technical downhill, a la Mondo Cool. Enjoy!
Ulu Gombak Forest Reserve
The Ulu Gombak forest reserve has excellent jungle trails located within the Klang Gates water catchment area. Access may be obtained from Kampung Kemensah in Ulu Klang (behind the national zoo) or from Kampung Sungai Pusu in Gombak (past the UIA campus).- Kampung Sg Pusu A general description of the trails in the Pusu area.
- Ulu Gombak Traverse 18km point to point traversing the reserve, starting at Pusu and ending in Kemensah. 5-star trail, a must-ride.
- Kemensah – Chongkak 14km point to point bisecting the reserve, starting at Kemensah and ending in Sg Chongkak in Ulu Langat.
- Kg Kemensah to Kg Sg Pusu Original attempt at traverse, included for record only.
Klang park
A little park in Klang, located off the Banting road, across the road from the main Klang hospital, has interesting and surprisingly technical singletrack trails. I don't know the name of this park, and the directions here are a little sketchy, but hopefully will be sufficient to get you on the right track (or trail, even). The trails will be worth the effort. From the infamous 7-way roundabout in Klang, head towards Banting. Look out for a yellow-domed mosque on your left, across the road from the hospital. A tarmac road just after the mosque (and just before a Petronas station) leads uphill to the park. Beware that the park is infested with joggers and hikers in the early morning and evenings.Update: I visited the park on 20/06/01, and it appears that most of the trails have been paved with tarmac! Somebody's cockamamie idea of progress and improvement, I guess.
Ulu Langat
The Ulu Langat area has much potential for mountain biking. The 1:50,000 scale topographic map of the area (sheet 76) is indispensible. Even so, not all the trails are marked on the map, and not all the marked trails still exist. The following is by no means exhaustive; for example, it does not include Sungai Long. If you have information on this or any other trail in the area, please e-mail me.- Bike Ecology Centre. Located near Nirvana cemetary, the centre is a dedicated mountain biking park.
- Teratak Tekala. A 4wd track leading from Teratak Tekala, a fishing pond and restaurant, leading to a waterfall in Sungai Lalang forest reserve. Beware of curious goings-on, though: once, Teh encountered a house and a fork on the trail that I did not see, and on another occasion, an exhausted rider was helped by a mysterious chocolate-bearing villager. Click on the links for directions to the trailhead.
- Sungai Chongkak. The Sungai Chongkak recreational area is the exit point for the Kemensah-Sg Chongkak trail, which can also be ridden in reverse, although less of it will be rideable this way. To get to Sungai Chongkak, head North on the Ulu Langat road (B18); at Pekan Batu 18 continue straight on past the right turn over the bridge to Genting Peres. With the river on your right, look out for a small lane signposted for Sungai Chongkak on your left.
- Pangsun. If you continue North along the Ulu Langat road past the Sungai Chongkak turning, you'll come to the village of Pangsun. There are several trails here: one is a 4wd track that climbs for 5km from the entrance of the Ulu Pangsun reservoir. This is also the start of the hiking trail to Gunung Nuang. Another trail starts from the end of a tarmac road on the East side of the village. This leads to a Felda project and according to local villagers may connect to Sungai Lui via a footpath.
- Sungai Pening-pening Hash site: lots of singletrack. Refer to the hash sites page for detailed directions.
- Kajang Race circuit. You can get to the trails that were once used for the Kajang Race series from the quarry, ridden in hash No81. Refer to the hash sites page for detailed directions. Note that these trails are located on private property.
Batu Dam
The trails in the Batu Dam area are superb: scenic, smooth, sinuous, sometimes steep, but most of all SINGLETRACK. For more details and directions:
Batu Dam Singletrack by Casper
PAHANG
Sungai Dua
This is an excellent 40km out-and-back from Kg Sungai Dua, near Karak, leading towards the Sungai Kerau waterfall.
Sungai Dua by Casper (added 28/08/02)
Janda Baik to Kampung Chennah
This is a tough 45km trail, with nightmarish logistics because it is point-to-point in the middle of nowhere. It is, however, a classic Malaysian epic through remote jungle.
Play that sweet song one more time by Pigpen
CAMERON HIGHLANDS
Though part of Pahang, Cameron Highlands is considered geographically distinct, because access is obtained from the west side of the main range, from the town of Tapah, Perak.Jim Thompson Loop
A 50km loop that starts in Lembah Bertam, Cameron Highlands. Easier than Janda Baik to Kg Chennah, but still strenuous, with sustained climbing.
JT Loop by Pigpen
Tapah/Cameron Highlands to Gua Musang
This ride is a serious proposition, about 140km long (approximately 80km of which is off-road) on steep and hot logging tracks. Rain can turn the track into an impassable muddy slurry, so it's best attempted in the dry season. This track will also form part of the proposed highlands highway that will link Pos Selim in Perak, to Kg. Raja in Cameron Highlands, and Kuala Betis in Kelantan. As such, the track may not remain unsealed for much longer.Start from the towns of Brinchang or Tanah Rata, in Cameron Highlands. Brinchang is 5km North of, and slightly higher than, Tanah Rata. The extremely masochistic can begin their ride from Tapah, which adds a 60km (road) uphill. Head North on the Cameron Highlands mainroad. The road climbs for a bit, past Brinchang, and then descends all the way to Kg. Raja. Continue uphill past Kg Raja to Blue Valley Tea Estate. The off road section starts here. An eye-watering descend later, you will reach Pos Brooke. Continue along, taking opportunity to chat with locals to affirm that you are on the right track.
You will need to spend a night on the trail at one of the posts or villages along the way. (There is a village roughly halfway between Kg. Raja and Kuala Betis.) There is a junction at Pos Blau. Left, the easier option, will take you to Kuala Betis. From here, Gua Musang is a 30km cycle on a pleasant, flat, road. The right fork is all off-road, leading straight to Gua Musang, but on more undulating terrain.
The grade of the track at times seemed impossibly steep. There are numerous interminable climbs which usually start at a bridge over a river at the valley floor. After a while, you will learn to despair upon coming to a bridge! The downhills were similarly extreme: the grease in my freehub was cooked after our ride in July 1995, causing the freehub to seize! As mentioned, the trail can be extremely muddy if it rains, consuming much time and energy for passage.
From KL, you can take the train to Tapah Road station (about 10km from Tapah), or rent a taxi from Puduraya station to Tanah Rata. From Gua Musang, you can take the train back to KL.
Notes:
- the information contained here are recollected from a trip in July 1995; as such not only is it subject to the vagaries of my memory, but also the track may have changed significantly since then. Use with caution.
- there is apparently also an offroad track from Kg Lasah near Sungai Siput in Perak that leads to Pos Brooke. This suggests potential for an all off-road track crossing the main range.
TRAILS NEAR IPOH OR IN THE KINTA VALLEY
Near Gunung Rapat
There's a labyrinthine network of trails behind a housing estate (which name escapes me) near Gunung Rapat. This is across the road from the limestone outcrop with the huge (and hugely famous) Mercedes sign. You'll come to this sign if you are entering Ipoh from the South on the old trunk road.Ulu Kinta
Lovely singletrack going through smallholdings of fruit and rubber trees. The trailhead is located near a place called Intake, a popular picnic spot. To get there, go down the Tambun road, past Tambun town and the hot springs on your right. You'll come to a right turn signposted "Intake". Go down this road to the end, past the live ammunition military range, and uphill to a car park at the picnic spot at some rapids of a river. The trailhead is on your left, along a ridge just before the car park.An aside: on Bukit Tambun there are some cave paintings dating from some 4000 years ago. The paintings include the unmistakable image of a dugong (manatee, or sea-cow). To get there, turn right on a laterite road just after you pass under the North-South Expressway on the Tambun road (if coming from Ipoh). The limestone outcrop on which the cave paintings are located overlooks the fields of the army camp.
Kampung Sinju
This trail continues past the Polo club, and through some pig farms. I don't remember much else of the trail, except that this farm had the biggest pig I'd ever seen - it was the size of a Honda Civic. The time that I rode this trail was also the time of the JE outbreak in Kg Nipah, so I wasn't exactly hanging around to take notes.This is how I remember to get to the Polo club: from Ipoh head down Tambun road, past the army camp and under the North-South Expressway. In Tambun town, there is a T-junction at which you turn right. Go further down this road and look out for dirt track on the left just before a right hand bend in the road. It should be signposted for the Polo club.
Kampung Paku
This is a 4wd track off the Pos Selim road. There's a lovely waterfall secreted away just off this trail, near the orang asli village of Kampung Paku. Surely one of the Kinta Valley's best kept secrets.From Ipoh, head South towards Simpang Pulai. At the Simpang Pulai cross junction (with the police station and barracks on your right), turn left towards Pos Selim. Continue on this road and you will come to a quarry, just past which there will be a dirt track on your right. The turning is not obvious, it's been a long time since I've last been here, and the area may have since been developed. So good luck!
Kelly's Castle
Adjacent to the ruins of a colonial home, known as Kelly's Castle, located near Batu Gajah are rubber and oil palm estates belonging to Kinta Kellas plc. Here are trails typical of such estates, and are worthy of remark only because of a race organised here by Major Jaafar in 1999.If visiting Kelly's Castle, be sure to check out the Hindu temple adjacent to the ruins. Look carefully at the statuettes lining the rim of the roof of the temple and see if you can spot the odd one out.
Bukit Kledang
There are some rubber estates near Bukit Kledang, but the highlight of the area is a steep descent from the weather station down the East face of the hill, replete with earthen steps. A bit like Mondo Cool in Bukit Kiara, but longer and with lower risk exposure.Banjaran Kledang (the Kledang Range) is visible from almost anywhere in Ipoh. From Ipoh, go to the town of Menglembu, from where you will be able to see very clearly the trail cutting down the face of the hill. Navigate by sight to the sealed road that leads up to the telecommunications antennae installation on Bukit Kledang. Park at the bottom and cycle up the road. There are various trails on your left as you ascend (all of which are begging to be explored). The descent starts from a weather station on your right located about halfway up the road to the radio installation.
Gopeng Pipeline
This is an exciting out-and-back along a singletrack trail that follows a pre-war water pipe 15 kilometres into the foothills of the Main Range. Warning: the last time I rode this trail we were used as target practice by mischievious, catapault-wielding, orang asli children.Go to Gopeng by your favourite way (Gopeng is about 30 kilometres South of Ipoh). If coming from KL on the old Ipoh trunk road (Route 1), you will pass under a black pipeline, about 5 feet in diameter, near Gopeng. Shortly after, turn right into the main town square. Park here, start cycling along the road that follows the pipeline.
Update (06/03/02): Folks from KOTRT rode this trail in December 2001, and the singletrack is no more! It's now a 4wd track all the way to the intake. Sigh.
OTHER AREAS
Desaru
Desaru, also known as Bandar Penawar, is in Johor, near the Easternmost point in the Malay peninsular. The Desaru Golden Beach Resort had created a race circuit in a forest reserve area across the road from the hotel. The trails are mainly 4wd tracks, with some singletrack sections every now and again. At the time that I rode it (Dec 2000), the trail looked as though it was in need of a little maintenance.Another trail lies to the South: drive past the golf course until the road comes to T-junction. Take left, which shortly turns into a rough 4wd track. (Right at the T-junction loops back to the main road.) This track will lead to a lovely rocky promontory overlooking the sea. Just before it emerges out of the jungle onto the promontory, there is an acute right turn that leads steeply uphill. Take this turning into the jungle, which will emerge at a fishing village. Follow the main road back North to Desaru. Further along this route, you may shortcut the road by turning right back into the jungle into the race route.
Interesting aside: the area is festooned with wildlife. In our short stay there, we saw kingfishers, a hornbill, an owl, a civet, squirrels, lizards and pitcher plants.
Foothills of Mount Kinabalu
Lots of plantation access tracks and breathtaking scenery (and breathtaking elevation!) in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Potential for much more, including a 4-day circumnavigation of the Kinabalu massif.
Mountainbiking Kinabalu by Casper
