Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Bukit Tabur East

This is my final hike for the month of January. And since I am running out of places to hike, I might be posting less hiking in the following months (I think). There are plenty of places to hike in Malaysia (or Selangor specifically) but I have yet to finalise my own target list (i.e. which hills or mountains that I'd like to try out).

Anyway, we decided to try and hike Bukit Tabur for two reasons; (1) on most of the hiking blogs, almost every one of them would recommend hiking Bukit Tabur; and (2) due to its challenging nature, some blogs have even recommended not to hike Bukit Tabur.

Note: We need a permit to hike Bukit Tabur (although some of the hikers that I met yesterday said they didn't obtain the permit) and here's a link of how to get the permit [click here]. We obtained our permit on Friday from Pejabat Hutan Daerah Selangor on Friday morning. The permit is only RM5 per person.

Bukit Tabur is located in Taman Melawati. I used Waze to get to the entrance of the trail. There are two routes for Bukit Tabur, which are Bukit Tabur East and Bukit Tabur West. Some people have told me that Bukit Tabur East is shorter but more challenging and Bukit Tabur West is not as challenging but the route is longer. Having never hiked on both routes, we decided to try out Bukit Tabur East. So, here's a photoblog of our hike yesterday:

We left for the hike at 9 am (after having breakfast) and arrived at the entrance to Bukit Tabur at around 9.30 am. Parked carefully around the nearby housing area (so as to not disturb any of the residences) and proceeded to our hiking route.

The first few meters from the road, we had to pass by these huge water pipes.

The climb begins.

Initial hike.

This way please. If I'm not mistaken there were a handful of these in the initial hike up.

A little bit of scampering around the rocks. 

On several parts of the hike, there are ropes provided to help your climb. Do use gloves because if you don't, you might end up with blisters on your hands.

Some parts had an almost 90 degree incline.

Having a strong upper body strength is definitely an added advantage.

First peak.

Went forward (with some ups and downs) to the main peak.

Some parts of the climb were relatively easy.

The main destination is up this peak.

Almost there.

The final climb up the main peak. 90 degrees incline. One tiny route (thus those going up would have to wait for those coming down to clear the route. As one of my friends had commented, only in Malaysia you would find traffic jam when hiking and you have to wait for your turn to go up.

Climbing up the main peak. Caution: This peak is treacherous. One tiny mistake would definitely cost you your life (or limb). So do be careful.

And we have finally reached the top. Hurrah!

Me, Aatif and Nihal. We finally made it to the top.

The dragon back ridge. Checked!

Another traffic jam. Getting down is equally (if not more) treacherous as going up. One rope and your own imagination on where to put your footing on the rocks.

The route down is different than the route up. So this route is definitely way faster than climbing up.

The final 10 - 15 minutes before arriving to where our car was parked.

Bukit Tabur East.

The view from the top of Bukit Tabur. Masha Allah.

And got to enjoy a beautiful view of the KL skyline as well. 

Let me just say that I had my concerns prior to climbing Bukit Tabur, one of the is regarding the accidents that has happened on the hill [click here] and some blogs/ write ups that were not favourable (i.e. they warned us against hiking up Bukit Tabur) thus I was initially afraid that climbing Bukit Tabur would be a difficult task. But having hiked up the top, I must say that it's not as difficult as what people say it is. If you've hiked before, then Bukit Tabur is definitely doable. However, do bear in mind that if you have any second thoughts on climbing, feel free to stop your climb and proceed to descend. A hike is always a personal achievement and if you feel you are not up to it, you can always try again later.

In terms of timing, we reached the first peak in about an hour and proceeded to reach the main peak in another hour (it would have been less but because there are so many people, I think we spent maybe around 20 - 30 minutes just waiting for the route to clear up and to give way to those who are descending). And going down took only perhaps 45 minutes because it's a straight (no fuss) route down the hill.

Now that I've climbed Bukit Tabur, I wouldn't say that it's that difficult (although I am not able to say the same for Bukit Tabur West because I have never climbed up that route before). With perseverance, you will definitely be able to make it. On some parts I did feel kind of cheated because I expected the route to be more difficult (so far I would have to say Mulu Pinnacles is the most challenging hike that I've ever been to) but the climb to the final peak of Bukit Tabur is definitely very, very dangerous and do be extra careful if you make the decision to climb up the main peak.

That being said, if you love hiking, Bukit Tabur is definitely a must hike! The hike was enjoyable and the scenery is definitely worth the climb.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Broga

So yesterday we took the opportunity of it being a public holiday (it was Deepavali) and went on a hiking trip to Broga. Truth be told, I was quite apprehensive about the trip up until the last minute. We were scheduled to leave for Broga at 4 am and at 3 am I was texting Azima on whether we should go and that it would be dark during the climb up the hill and whether the environment would be safe for us (I mean, it is a jungle and there would be animals roaming around). Azima managed to calm my fears and we went off to Broga and this is how it went:

Broga is located in Semenyih, roughly about almost an hour away from KL so when you're making plans for climbing, do take note of the traveling time that is required. There's a parking fee of RM2 charged and there'll be parking attendants showing you where to park which is great because it will allow the cars to be parked properly and you can easily leave the area quickly after you're done with your climb.

The path is on an earth trail which gets muddy if it rains, so do check the weather forecast before you leave for Broga because if it rains, the trails can be slippery and quite treacherous. Please don't climb when it's raining, or if it starts to rain when you're already halfway up, I would actually recommend for you to stop climbing and start your descent instead.

Breaking dawn over Broga.

Most people would start climbing at 5 am, and when we got there at 5.10 am, there were already quite a number of cars parked in the parking lot. Do bring a torchlight to light your path, there's no streetlights to aid your climb and whatever light that the stars and the moon beamed on us was definitely not enough to light the way. And yes, the handphone torchlight would be enough to light your way. Do also bring a small towel or some wet wipes, you will get sweaty and slightly muddy along the way. A small bottle of water is necessary and maybe some dry biscuits would be enough to tide you over if you're hungry.

The trail. This would most probably be a 30 degree incline (or decline, depending on how you look at it).

In terms of the trail, most of the time it was roughly a 20 degrees incline but there are some parts where the incline was 45 - 50 degrees so that can be quite daunting, especially for first time climbers. Don't worry, there are ropes to help the climbers along the way, especially when the terrain got a little bit steep and be mindful of your step, as you might slip and stumble if you aren't careful. The whole climb took perhaps about an hour and a half for us and if you're fit, it would most probably take you about an hour. We actually stopped many times along the way to catch our breath and to me that made all the difference, I was able to enjoy the whole climbing experience in a more relaxing manner.

The first two peaks.

There are three peaks, the distance between the first peak to the next is about 10 minutes walk and similarly the distance from the second peak to the third is also about 10 minutes walk. The first two peaks are flatter in nature and offers a great 360 degree view of the town and its surrounding areas below while the third peak is covered by some trees and huge boulders. However, once you get on top of the boulder, it definitely offered a better view than the first two peaks.

Climbing down from the third peak. The first peak is at the far end and the second peak is in the middle.

Do bear in mind that there will be a lot of people on the hill. I expect perhaps roughly 50 - 100 people were on the first two peaks while the third peak looked like there were perhaps 40 over people. So it will be crowded (especially during the weekend and public holidays) so if you don't like the crowd, come during the weekdays. Personally for me, I prefer having a huge crowd around me simply because I am a novice climber and there's safety in numbers.

As we were climbing down, there was still a large crowd making their way up so if you prefer, you can always pray fajr first and then climb up the hill. 

If you're wondering about fajr prayers, most people actually prayed fajr at the peaks so just bring your praying mats (or whatever material that's comfortable for you) for prayer. Some groups even prayed jamaah together so there's absolutely no worry of you missing out on your prayers.

Me, Azima, Lin, Ariff and G with the wonderful bright early morning sun ray behind us. Blessed, Alhamdulillah. 

And for parents, if you're wondering whether you should bring your kids along, just so you know, some parents brought kids in their carrier (hint: kids would be below 3 years old) and kids older than that were climbing their hearts out. I do believe this would be a good activity for kids and it would definitely teach them about perseverance, hard work and enjoy getting themselves dirty.

Broga. 1312 feet or 400 meters above sea level.

Waiting for sunrise. 

The sun peeking from the horizon.

This shot was taken from the first peak at 7.30 am while we were climbing down. 

I would definitely recommend the climb for most people, the view is breathtaking and the climb is absolutely worth it. I loved the whole climbing experience and would not mind another climbing trip, inshaa Allah.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista