Nuang Via Janda Baik

I have been to Gunung Nuang via Ulu Langat twice.  The first time was part of the preparation to climb Mount Kinabalu and the second was to prepare for Mount Tahan.

We spent 11 hours of hiking when we went there the first time.  For the second time, we camped for one night.  From the experience of both trips, I can conclude that climbing Gunung Nuang is very challenging.  It's not first timers and not for new comers either. 

I have often heard that Nuang via Janda Baik is less tough and hikers spend less time to complete the climb.  With that in mind, I planned another Nuang trip (via Janda Baik of course) with my group.  We were told it'd take us between 3.5 to 4 hours of hiking to the peak.

If I were to go there again, perhaps I will not climb Gunung Nuang, I will just do jungle trekking up to the waterfall area and enjoy myself there.  And come back to Zaini's Guest House to have BBQ dinner.  Gunung Nuang is definitely more fun via Ulu Langat and camping is recommended due to distance.  

We were supposed to follow a group of friends from PD but eventually we went ahead in our smaller group with the help of John and Joey (J&J) who were kind enough to be our guides.  Thank you to both of them, whom I met in my previous trip to Gunung Angsi.  We planned to start the trekking early in the morning.  So as not to trouble anyone, having to get up early at around 4am, we decided to come one day earlier and stayed at Zaini's Guest House.  The chalet is located about 500 meters from the starting point. We liked the ambiance at the chalet and enjoyed our short stay there.  We got up as early as 5.00am and after a quick breakfast at about 6.15am, we went to our car to get ready and joined J&J at about 6.40am.



After a short introduction and pleasantries, we started our trekking and the first challenge was to cross the stream.  It was still early in the morning and the water was very cold.  We crossed at the second spot to do so as water level at the first place was higher.  The water was very cold as it was still early in the morning.  



Along the way, we saw agri crops like french beans and four angled beans.  We thought of picking up some and pay the caretaker when we got back.  By the time, we got back, we were already very tired and no longer excited about the idea. 



This signboard was very important to us.  We were kind of lost, trying to figure out which way to go.  One of the farm caretakers told us to go to the signboard and follow the trail from there.  From then on, we were sure of our trail and never looked back.



Amongst the differences between between the trail of Ulu Langat and Janda that I noticed are the trails at Janda Baik are not as established as Ulu Langat due to the fact it's less popular and less number of people using the trail.  I prefer Ulu Langat trails as it's more fun, there are Check Points to look forward to namely Kem Lolo, Kem Pacat and Puncak Pengasih (false peak).  There were none of those in Janda Baik.  The trail between Kem Pacat and Puncak Pengasih was the one that differentiate Gunung Nuang from other mountains and we didn't see that in Janda Baik.  I must say that the trails in Janda Baik are less challenging, nevertheless, it takes almost the same number of hours. 

We were prepard with confetti to be left along the trails.  As it turned out, we didn't have enough up to the peak.  I like leaving confetti trails as it gives the confidence to the people behind that they are not on the right track.

We had to go through so many bamboo tunnels along the way.  There are bamboos along the never ending road via Ulu Langat but we don't have to pass through any tunnel.  The trails were cleared off of bamboo hurdles.  That's not the case here in Janda Baik.  The trails were slippery especially when we came back as there were so may people hiking on that day.  And it was raining heavily for two days in a row!

We reached the peak about 5 hours later.  There were already many people hikers when we reached there and majority of them were using Ulu Langat trails.  As expected, my friends from PD overtook us along the way too.