AYER HITAM FOREST RESERVE - PUCHONG

Not many people know the existence of this Forest Reserve located in Taman Wawasan Puchong. It's the last piece of green lung available in that area under the purview of Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya and it's also a research area for Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

This area is not void of controversy either, the community has been protesting the plan by a developer to develop the area adjacent to the Forest Reserve with 137 bungalows, 324 semi-detached houses, one commercial plot and an office site.In the meantime, while the area is still open to public, let's go there!

How To Get There?

The entrance is located at Jalan Wawasan 5/1, Taman Wawasan Puchong. We passed Giant Hypermarket Bandar Puteri, Puchong before taking a left turn at the first traffic light after Columbia Asia Hospital. After that, take the first left at Laman Puteri 1 before taking the first right at Persiaran Bukit. The entrance is located right at the end of Persiaran Bukit.

My Story

Getting there

It's very easy to get there. From KL, after getting into LDP towards Shah Alam, we can exit at Pusat Bandar Puchong, aftr IOI, and follow the signboard to Speedmart 99.

First Check Point

I started hiking at almost 8am. It's an easy hiking, that's why it's a popular spot for families to go for weekend hiking. Along the way, I met several families, mostly Chinese and they were friendly enough to greet me. They must be Puchong locals.

I read in the sketch there were 3 different Check Points but I noticed there were only two. I didn't get to take pictures at the Check Point as it's full of people.

Second Check Point and The Pond

At the second Check Point, I met some groups of hikers there and they gave me direction to go to the waterfalls, which is on the right side. Here it's quite tough but simple, very good training ground for someone who are interested to take up hiking as hobby. I took almost 30 minutes to reach the waterfalls. I had a long stop at the pond taking my time to rest and to munch on breakfast bars. There were fishes in the pond and I shared my breakfast bars with them. It was very relaxing and the water was cold.

After relaxing at the pond and finished off the breakfast bars, I wanted to explore further and headed straight following the trail instead of turning back. I bumped into a group of hikers and asked them where did the trail lead to and was told it'd end at Bukit Jalil. Ooops! My car was in Puchong and I had no intention of flagging a taxi from Bukit Jalil, so I turned back instead.

When I finally reached the second Check Point, I really needed another rest. I took a rest for about 15 minutes and continued again after that following the exit signs. As usual, it's always advisable to follow clear and established trails instead of venturing out and making our own trail. The exit trails are clearly marked and I don't think hikers will get lost there.

Other than enjoying fresh air, just like any Forest Reserve, this place is laden with flora and fauna. However, to those who have been to a lot of other mountains, they must have already seen the same flaura and fauna before. Nevertheless, it's so enjoyable to be in a hiking place that is very close to home. So now, if I don't have any mountain to climb, I'd just do my weekeend hiking either at Bukit Tabur, Bukit Gasing and this place.

Finish Line

I completed the hiking slightly after 12 noon and at that time, it was already scorching hot. I took 4 hours to complete it. I must sya that I had fun time and it's always a good thing to share our experience in hiking a new place.

I'll be going for a Treasure Hunt, Damai Laut next week. So there will be no hiking activity for Small Hiker this week.