Difficulty: 7/10
Time required: 5/10 (3 to 4 hours)
Scenic: 8/10
Accessibility: 8/10 (I think there's no public transport to here, but for locals, it's easy to drive in)
Parking: No open carpark. Park at roadside.
Cleanliness: 8/10
Guide: Not required. However, there's no signboard, suggest to go with experienced hikers.
Fee: FOC
On this normal, boring, typical working day of mine, I've been complaining to an old friend of mine about how much I would like to do something crazier to spice up my life such as a night hike to catch sunrise; camping or whatever crazy hardcore shit. I'm glad that I actually complained to him, and YES! We made it happened!
We managed to ask for another 3 more friends and a mother, one of his, two friends and fitmama of mine. Waking up at 3.25am on a saturday morning and there it goes, our first night walk on this dangerous hill which killed several hikers who missed their steps. (It's really saddening and may them rest in peace).
Met up at 4.30am at this mamak which is very near to the entrance (About 5 mins drive), had some light breakfast, geared up ourselves with headlamps and ready to rock at 5.10am.
@photo credits to yar
It was still pitch dark at this hour, by lacking of two headlamps in our team, we slowed down our hike to make sure everyone is safe. Plus, one of our friends had a not-so-light breakfast (two packets of maggie goreng), she started to feel sick.
The beginning part of the trail was quite steep but not that dangerous. Just crossing the wood but I had a hard time catching the speed and I started to sweat like a cow. Luckily it wasn't that long, probably 10 mins non-stop hike to reach an open space which we can catch a breath and enjoy the night sky. It was probably the first time I saw that many stars in this light polluted city. By the time we reached, there were already two hikers lying down on the rocks enjoying the cool breeze and night sky.
With the kiasu-ness in our mind, we continued to hike up worrying that we'll miss the sunrise. Being slow and steady, we've reached the spot where we believed it's the spot where all the tabur sunrise photos were taken based on our google results. We reached at 6.10am, clearly, we underestimated ourselves and for that, we had to sit and wait for an hour for the sunrise (based on weather forecast, sunrise is at 7.10am). The spot is easy to spot, basically it's the place where you first encounter lots of boulders after crossing the woods.
This photo was probably taken at around 6.30am
Selfie with my mum. It wasn't that cold, hence, don't worry about the accessories. Headlamp is enough. Or maybe can consider gloves if you have silky smooth skin to protect your palms during rock climbing. For me, I think it was ok even without gloves.
Over viewing Klang Gates Dam
So here it is! Breaking dawn, with Klang gates dam on your left and Tabur East on the right.
*Big shout out* BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLL! @photo credit to yar
Couldn't believe that such a beautiful view is that accessible to all the KL-ians and Selangor-ians. Located right in the middle of one of the busiest areas at Wangsa Maju, SO BLESSED!
Unfortunately, it was abit cloudy, we missed the 'egg yolk'; else it would be perfect! Then, we continued the remaining 70% of the hike. The fun part has just started after we enjoyed the cool morning breeze and romantic sunrise (not so romantic for me, cause first, i need to get myself a bf to share the lovey-dovey)
This photo was taken during my first hike at Tabur west back in July'15. Just to show the fun part of this trail, a mini rock climbing.
Sun is finally out! There are several spots with nice views as we climbed higher
@photo credit to yar
Err... okay, just to prove that we're here. Wefie with these awesome gang of friends and family. Special thanks to NC and YAR for leading the way and keeping us safe!
I'm so in love with the moss! (i think they are moss..right?) So cute! I'm a mossy girl, one of the reasons why I desperately wanna try gunung Irau and mossy forest. It must be so beautiful to see the whole forest is covered with moss.
Good news is, you don't need to climb down the same route to get back to your cars. There's an easier way to walk down through the jungle. We managed to get down by 9.30am, which was about 5 hours hike including the 1.5 hours which we just sat down and chillax while waiting for the sunrise. Else, the whole trails should be able to finish in 3 to 4 hours for beginner to average hikers.
So.. is the trail really dangerous and challenging? Yes and no?
YES because there are certain parts which you really need to watch your steps, make sure both hands and feet to have firm grips before you move your next step. Don't JUMP! Even if it's not that high, it can easily sprain our ankles (TQ NC for highlighting to me when I tried to jump down from a boulder). For beginner, maybe it's a bit challenging as this is not just trekking, but it requires courage and strength to climb rocks, walking by the cliffs and getting down by rope.
NO because even I can do it! Haha.. okay. It's not that difficult as the trail is not too long and there are several spots where you can rest. Also, it's a popular trail where you can meet a lot of cool and friendly hikers there. Just ask for help if you need! People are friendly. Once I was stuck on this slanted boulder where my shoes were too slippery to climb up on my own; without even asking for help, there's this friendly hiker who offered his hand and pulled me up. *thumbs up*
What do you need to bring?
1. Plenty of water, keep yourself hydrated. I don't drink much, and i'm a lazy bum, don't want to carry heavy bag, 500ml was enough for me.
2. Strong grip shoes. I've climbed twice with my running shoes, managed to survive but I do strongly recommend to get a proper hiking shoes for this trail because the rocks can be very slippery.
3. Cap or hat? Try not to start the hike after 8am, it can be really hot! Not much shades at the later part of the trail
4. Gloves. As mentioned earlier, optional. To protect your palms.
5. Long pants. Optional, to protect your pretty legs from scratches by sharp rocks
6. Last but not least, your SMART PHONE/CAMERA! Instant sharing/show off of the beautiful sceneries.
I really enjoyed the hike and good luck to those who would like to give it a try. Here's a short clip I've recorded during the hike (first time using yi camera, fogging on the casing was bad! and battery drained up super fast). Apologies for not having enough time to edit the video yet. Will get back with a better version soon.. i hope. Enjoy!
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