GUNUNG LEDANG - ENJOYABLE CLIMB

I joined a group of people from Facebook to Gunung Ledang on Jul 11 and 12, 2009. Gunung Ledang is 1276 meters above sea level. Apparently, it's the 64th. tallest and 6th. most difficult in Malaysia! Is it true? These are facts that I can't verify and being painted at the toilet area.

How To Get There

This mountain is very popular and every Malaysians, young and old, may have heard about the legend, Puteri Gunung Ledang. It is situated in Tangkak, Johor. It's very easy to locate the place since it's a very popular spot for picnic and hiking enthusiasts.

From southbound PLUS highway, we exit at Tangkak (exit 235). Immediately after paying the toll fee, we came come across a T junction, we turned to the right turn towards Sagil. Along the way, there were signage giving us directions on how to get to the Gunung Ledang Resort. Nobody will miss it as it's a long straight road until we reached Pintu A of the resort.

Accomodation

There were options to choose from, from a cabin with no electricity to air-cond rooms. With the minimal fee that we paid to the organizers, we were put up at a cabin that can accommodate 4 people. We had to light mosquito coil to repel the insects! For information on the climbing and accommodation, please contact: Gunung Ledang Resort Sdn. Bhd. Tel No: 06-9772888, Fax No: 06-977 3555 and Email: ledang@tm.net.my (still got ah this kind of email address?)

The hiking

The mountain is under the Management of the resort and I have to say it's well maintained. I am not sure though how much the climbing permit was but I know about the deposit RM20 that we had to pay. And we had to sign a declaration form on things that we bring up to the mountain. The whole idea is for us not to litter the mountain. What you bring up, you must take it down, nothing should be left behind. That also reminds me of one axiom related to hiking, don't take anything but pictures and don't leave anything but footprints.

Anyway, the trail that we took was a new one. They had closed the trail from the resort itself. The Check Points under the new trails are:

1. CP 1 - Bukit Semput
2. CP 2 - Lagenda Trail
3. CP 3 - Batu Orkid
4. CP 5 - Sungei Segi Tiga (2,200 ft)
5. CP 6 - Gua Kambing (3,050 ft) plus Batu Hampar and Taman Bonsai
6. CP 7 - Botak Hill (3,650 ft)
7. The Summit (4,187 ft)

It took us 5 hours to reach the summit. I have to say we could complete it in four hours. However, along the way we had to do at least 2 of 30 minutes wait for the slower group. Eventually the slowest group of 7 hikers had to return to the base as they couldn't face up to the challenges.

There were 33 of us and we were given 3 guides. By right, we should break up into smaller group after the first Check Point, depending on the speed, fast, medium and slow. And each guide will look after one group. However, that was not the case and we ended up waiting for tghe whole group to reach the next Check point before we continued.

Check point 1 - Bukit Semput

After the briefing by the Park Management's staff, we started our trekking to the first CP, Bukit Semput. The trek leading to Bukit Semput would really make an average fit guy like me and majority of us 'semput'. Semput is panting in English. We had to climb at least 725 concrete steps and by the time we reached CP1, we were all panting and sweating. As for me, I gulped at least 100 ml of 100 Plus.

Check Point 2 - Lagenda Trail

It was no better than CP 1 with the concrete steps missing. It's all the way up with steep terrains but not so rugged as compare to the later trail, Gua Kambing. The trail was very clean and well maintained.

Check Point 3 - Batu Orkid
At one time, the big rock next to our resting area must have got a lot of orchids. That's why the CP was known as Batu Orkid (Aku agak lah!). We had to wait for the slower group here too!


Check Point 5 - Sungei Segi Tiga

There are 3 streams that converged as one here, that's where it got its name. From here to Gua Kambing, the trail is called KFC (Killing Fitness Centre), the trail is tough, rugged and uphill all the way.



Check Point 6 - Gua Kambing
The most interesting Check Point. From here to Botak Hill, we passed through two interesting treks, Batu Hampar and Taman Bonsai (Bonsai Garden).


At Gua Kambing, you either pass through the cave (it's not actually a cave, it's just a narrow path in between rocks for hikers to pass through!). Don't fancy that, we had the option of going around the cave.


Batu Hampar, a rock face that is 4 storey high. Very high indeed and that the climbing using ropes is divided into two parts. It's a cliff, imagine you're in Cliffhanger dangling on rope! It's scary, adventurous and fun, depending on how you look at it. Nice scenery, id you're not scare to look behind! It's advisable to follow experienced hikers for this stretch or someone who can guide, help and lead the way.


Taman Bonsai - a good pay-off after completing Batu Hampar's climb. From here, it's already 3,000 ft above sea level. The vegetation are stunted and hardy.


Check Point 7 - Botak Hill
The last CP before reaching the summit. From here, there are two options, the longer route (very tough) or the shorter route. By accident, we (the fast group)turned to the left and took the longer trek. The trek is very tough, there are ropes and staircases to help through it.

Last Check Point - The Summit
We took the longer and tougher route and yet we became the first group to reach the summit. Wow! Breath taking view, 360 degrees of the surrounding valleys. The weather was cooler and we were above the clouds at times!



Summary
I enjoyed the climbing very much and the group was a fun bunch of people and I hope to join them again for other trekking activities next year!