Hiking Up Bukit Tabur

As promised, I’m ganna tell you all about climbing Bukit Tabur. If you wanna count the times that I’ve actually hiked, that would be around er … twice. The first time was up Bukit Larut, also known as Maxwell Hill and even then, it was to fulfill the co-curriculum of recreation club in uni.

Husband on the other hand, has done nothing but climb. He’s gone up Bukit Tabur to the top twice, Broga, Mount Kinabalu twice, etc etc you get the picture. So just to set the record straight, I’m not a hiker, climber or whatever. Neither is my 13 year old younger brother who also followed us.

And the best advice as a newbie, is to take lots of water because it’s all you care about once you’re up there. Also take 100 Plus and some energy bars or snickers if you can.

The entry point is nearby a Puncak Niaga facility in Taman Melawati. It looks like an entry to some unbeaten pathway but you’ll notice many cars parked along the small road.



Unlike Maxwell Hill, Bukit Tabur is not as damp and less creepy crawlies (ex: leeches) so it’s safe to not wear insect repellant.

The climb upwards was quite challenging. It took us one hour and half to reach midway point. That’s where we stopped, because hubby said that the track afterwards gets even more challenging.

In fact, if you came across the Star’s article about Bukit Tabur some time ago, you’ll find out that some people fell to their death while climbing. So really, if you wanna go, make sure that you had enough sleep and not sick or anything like that.

At some parts we had to climb a vertical wall of granite rocks which really was something.

About 30 minutes into the climb, we came across this scenery.



The feeling of lethargy simply evaporates into thin air because the view was soo stunning.

 

I borrowed mom’s Nike all-terrain hiking shoes which was a blessing because the shoes really provided a strong grip while climbing the rocks.

One hour 30 minutes later, after 2 bottles of water and a couple of short pit stops along the way, we made it to our destination.



…The view was so beautiful and so worth the climb.



Me in my active gear that has not changed for the past 5 years.





One thing I noticed was how the plants at the top look almost Mediterranean. Small barks, veiny and sparse. Looks very nice for a photo shoot. That is if the model and photographer don’t mind climbing granite rocks for 90 minutes.



The climb down was not as tiring, but more slippery. We were lucky because the day we climbed, it was cloudy with a light breeze. Unlike the times husband climbed before, which was sweltering hot.

Overall, I’m excited to make it all the way next time! Hiking makes me high on adrenaline, and high is good!

Something to note though, as is the case with other hills, there’s always a group of elderly guys climbing up like a boss, in slippers and hot pants. They’re also going 5 times faster than us--seemingly youngish people. Makes me think, when I’m that old, can I be that fit?

P/S: Here's a blog written by Agnes that would give you a pretty good idea of what it's like to climb Bukit Tabur.