Bukit Tabur Climb

Snippet: Since returning back here in KL, I've been out non-stop around the clock. I need a break to catch my breath.

The Bukit Tabur climb was initially planned by Kien Yee & I some two months ago just before we had our break. Bukit Tabur is located in Gombak, near the MRR2 off from Taman Melawati. Relatively unknown except to a few climbers, it is a crystal quartz ridge at the edge of the Klang Gates Dam. (For more info, click here) We needed some adventuring after the aftermath of Templer's Park few months ago and since the holidays were coming to an end, we decided to get on with the plan, and managed to gather another 2 more friends, Alvin d& Vincent Ng. What they didn't know was that it was definitely more challenging than a normal hike around the forest!

We set off in the wee hours of Saturday morning and reached the climbing site at 6am. Although it was our first time there, we had little trouble finding the location thanks to the maps we printed earlier and with GPS. The hard part was finding the starting point of our hike, which was marked just by a stone slab.

Group photo at the start

Feeling damn semangat eventhough some of them never slept the previous night, we proceeded with our hike into the darkness of the forest, aided by torchlights and a friendly dog. This cute little dog led us along the trail and is known to be the 'guide' here.

Alvin and the dog he named Poppy!

The beginning parts of the hike wasn't really tough, but due to the lack of exercise we kinda found ourselves huffing and puffing along the way. So we took it slow, stopping every few moments to admire the scenery, which was slowly turning visible for us.

This was some 30 minutes into the hike I think. That's the shadowy outcast of the east peak. A different trail leads up there.

View of Taman Melawati from the first lookout point.

Kien Yee tackling the rocks, which in our opinion, was nothing compared to what we had to encounter later.

It gets misty at certain parts, like Genting Highlands

As the skies start to lighten up, we could see more of our surroundings.

Trying to get the best shot

The towering buildings of KL city

That's Genting Highlands! (those tiny buildings far away in the horizon)


The Klang Dam lake surrounded by mist

As we climber higher towards the next peak (there were 5-6 peaks I think), a better view was visible. The vegetation was less dense and the path was covered with lose gravel and rocks.

One wrong step will send you like 100 feet below. Not for those who are afraid of heights


Alvin and his moment

We were now higher than the east peaks


Carpet moss

We took multiple breaks, usually on the peaks to recharge. Guys camwhoring on top of a hill sound kinda gay huh?

The challenging part of the climb comes at the end. Faced with 30 foot high rock walls, the only way through was to climb over it. The rocks were jagged sharp and baking hot due to the sun. At some parts of the trail requiring rope repelling, we had to wait for other climbers for their turn.

Me scaling this narrow rock wall. I bet my mom would freak out looking at this photo. Haha!


This rock greets you at the top after climbing the wall. =)


We meet different groups of people on the way. Some of them helped each other in navigating the harder parts of the climb.


You can see how treacherous and tiring it was. We had to get down from this peak and climb up the next peak.


Another peak!


Yet another! Betcha wondering how the hell you get over there huh?


A clearer view of the lake...with a group of people trying to climb down on the other side

In the end, it took us 5 hours to finish the whole thing and arrive back at our cars. A long time to complete, considering how unfit we were. A fit person would be able to finish the whole climb in 3-4 hours. I was suffering from cramps of both legs during the descend through an orchard, not to mention the many cuts and bruises all over my body. Yet, it was a good workout and a new adventure for all of us!

We set our sights on the east peak in the future!

P.S: Thanks to the photos from Alvin & Kien Yee's camera.