BUKIT KUTU - Lost & Rescued

Bukit Kutu

Bukit Kutu is located in Kuala Kubu Bahru and I must say it is an interesting place. Although it's called a “bukit” (hill), peaked at 3456 feet above sea level, it can be classified as a mountain. In fact, based on the challenging trails, I refuse to call it a hill.  The aborigines in the area called it Bukit Sekutu. It was renamed Treachers’s Hill by the British.  They built a bungalow complete with a cart rail to reach the peak.  Later on, a sanatorium was also built.  I was told that the place was bombed during the Japanese occupation.  These days the mountain is popularly known as Bukit Kutu instead! Or better still; Gunung Kutu.

How to get there
It's quite easy.  From Kuala Kubu town, head down to Fraser's Hill.  We passed Empangan Selangor and immediately after the bridge, we turned to the right at Kg. Pertak, it's a settlement village for the aborigines.  From far the village looks like a resort!

The Trails

We underestimated the trails, just because the name is a hill and a bungalow was built at the peak, we thought how tough could it be?  We were wrong, we all agreed it's rather tough with steep trails almost all the way up.  The trails could be confusing at certain stretches, therefore it's advisable for first timers to have experienced hiker along.

It took us approximately 1 hour 30  minutes from the last stream to reach the most popular check point before reaching the peak.  It's the gigantic rock formation that provides shelter to hikers.  I was awed by the sheer size of the rock.  With the top of the rock formation jutting out from its base, it must have looked like a mushroom from a bird's eye view!

From this check point it took us almost 1 hour to reach the peak after passing through some 'bamboo traps' and some slippery trails. The hill is not that high so there is not much change in temperature!  It's slightly cooler at the peak!

My Story

I have been wanting to go to Gunung Kutu for quite some times and the last time I was supposed to go there I had to cancel it at the last minute due to health problem.

I heard that the trails can be confusing at certain stretches so when I planned to do it again, I prefer not to venture out on my own.  I asked around from my fellow hikers in Facebook and my friend Lucas agreed to lead us there. 

There were supposed to be seven of us but only 5 turned up on the event day.  Four of us left in two separate cars from Shah Alam and stopped over for prayers and breakfast at Rawang R&R.  Breakfast was home cooked Nasi Lemak prepared by Azinda.  Thank you, and I really enjoyed it.  We met Lucas in Kuala Kubu Bahru town at 7.15am.  

It's Lucas' second trip to Bukit Kutu and when he was there the first time, the group got lost and couldn't find the trails to the peak.  I really couldn't blame Lucas when he was lost again with us!  We spent almost two hours looking for the right trails.  

At one time his leg got caught in the trap being put by the aborigines for fowls, was it meant for wild boar instead?   Luckily he wasn't injured!

We almost gave up and wanted to change the location to Sg. Chilling waterfalls nearby instead. 

However, when we were ready to make the move we saw a big group of recruits from Fire & Rescue Department heading to the peak.  After exchanging greetings, we took the opportunity to join them.  Thank you, they didn't know it but they rescued us!

Gunung Kutu, unlike its name, you'd never see lice there.  However there were 'dancing queens' and they were were everywhere.   Each one of us got at least 5 bites from these leeches! 

We reached the peak 2 hours 45 minutes later.  I must say this is one of the most satisfying hiking trip ever and intriguing too!  I wanted to know more about the place and I searched for more info in the web about this hill.  I even went into the website of Arkib Negara to look for more info! 

We spent almost 1 hour at the peak and to those who are not acrophobic, they can go up to the top of the rock and have a stunning 360 degrees view of the surroundings including Selangor Dam.  Be careful, the big rock is not that stable and at any one time it can accommodate up to two people only!

We were ready to leave when suddenly we met Ah Fatt, a fellow hiker that I met at at Gunung Besar Hantu.  He led us to what he said a fortress which was 15 minutes away from the peak.  However, I believe it was a sanatorium. Thank you Ah Fatt, this was really the icing on the cake, we enjoyed the historical ruins of the sanatorium.

As a summary, I really enjoyed the trip, it was challenging and tough (I still have my slip disc!) but it was worth the effort.  I don't mind to go up there again and when I go I know what to expect.  As it was, we underestimated the 'hill'!