Getting to Kuala Kubu Bahru should be pretty straightforward. Unless if you use Waze. There's actually two place about 30 kilometers apart both named Kuala Kubu Bharu and Kuala Kubu Bahru on the map. The first one is a tiny remote village in the middle of nowhere and the latter is the actual small town north of Selangor that we wanted to go. Guess where Waze actually brought us? Yep, the remote village in the middle of nowhere. So remember next time, get your spelling right. I bet the person who named those places so similarly is laughing in his grave right now.
Anyway, in spite of the 40 minutes detour, we finally made to the right Kuala Kubu Bahru after like 2 and a half hours driving from KL. We had breakfast at the popular (and only) 24 hour mamak restaurant there called Fazlina Maju before starting our climb. Kuala Kubu Bahru is a nice quiet little town with hardly any traffic en route to Fraser's Hill. I don't mind living in such sleepy little town like this some day when I retire.
Getting to Kampung Pertak at the foot of Bukit Kutu can be a bit confusing if you've never been there before. Lucky for me we had Syiaful who'd been there a couple of times. Else you can rely on your favourite GPS app to guide you there and pray that it doesn't lead you anywhere else. Basically it's the same road you take to go to the Pertak dam and also Chilling waterfall. You can see the signboard to Kampung Pertak, an indigenous people's settlement clearly by the roadside.
Once you're in, drive your car further inside until you can't go on anymore and just park anywhere by the roadside. When we got there that morning, there's already about a dozen cars parked along the road so you can tell it's a pretty popular hiking spot.
It was already very cloudy and overcast when we got to Kuala Kubu Bahru town so it's hardly surprising when it pours while we're about to start our climb. Fortunately most of us had come prepared so we put on all our raincoats and rain poncho and proceed in the rain.
First you'll meet this stream and the little broken bridge which is still accessible if you wish.
There's a few junction and fork on the road leading up to Bukit Kutu so unless you brought someone experienced you might waste some time going the right way. There's this first junction about 500 meters from where we park with no signboard whatsoever and another one which has a tiny sign which points you to Bukit Kutu. For both junctions, take the right side.
This is the first junction, take right (or deal with the big scary dog on the left hor hor).
The second junction with tiny Bukit Kutu sign. Take right as well.
A few hundred meters after the second junction, you will meet the orang asli settlement and the road that leads to Bukit Kutu goes right through it. Needless to say, you need to show some courtesy and respect while passing through their homes. A simple nod or hi or smile will do. No need to give offerings or anything.
As you walk further you'll encounter two more streams along the way. While it is possible to hop across from one stone to another without getting your shoes wet, most people would prefer to take off their shoes and wade through the shallow water. But since it's raining so heavily that day and our shoes are going to get wet anyway, we just walked across with our shoes on.
In the beginning, the hike was pretty flat and accessible.
However about 1 kilometer in, the road started to ascend up and since it's raining, became super-slippery. There was a little detour made by some good Samaritans to avoid the wasp nest which stung half a dozen people the week before so the new route is still fresh and unstable. The first 500 meters up from the foot of the hill was quite a challenge for all of us.
Bukit Kutu can be described as moderately challenging. The climb was gradual until the top and definitely doable if you've been hiking before. It was unfortunate that it rained most of the way up the hill. If you've never experienced hiking in the rain before, it was even more challenging than regular hiking during dry weather. Your path will definitely be quite slippery especially during the descend down the hill.
About 2/3 up the hill you will encounter and marvel at several big rocks which could be a handy place to shelter from the rain or smoke weed on the rocks or whatever.
As we progress upwards, we met more and more obstacles coming our way like fallen logs and bending bamboo plants criss-crossing our path.
This is how my shoes looks like on the way back. There's hardly any grip left with so much mud on it.
Some of the interesting plants that we saw. Don't ask me what they were.
When you see this towering fireplace ruin, you know you've just about reached the top. This place also happens to be a popular campsite for hikers and campers.
At the peak of Bukit Tabur, you'll find a couple of huge rocks where you can climb them with the ladders provided. The view from the peak of Bukit Tabur is already breathtaking but even more so on top of those rocks.
However, there's very little space on top of the rocks and there's usually a steady queue of climbers waiting in line to go up. Plus you need to be extra careful up there because one little slip you could plunge to your death.
Clear blue cerulean sky and pretty clouds on top of the rocks.
Fogs enveloping the hills after the 3 hours rain.
The almost dried up Pertak dam from above.
The author at 1053 meters above sea level.
Yummy little bug.
A few hundred meters from the peak, you can find this old ruin of a bungalow which can be quite creepy but interesting nevertheless. I can't imagine how they carried all the raw materials all the way up there to build the bungalow. Even more fascinating, how they could live up there all by themselves many-many years ago.
Overall. the return trip took us around 6 hours including 40 minutes rest at the top. I wish I could spend more time or even have a dip in the refreshing stream at the foot of the hill but unfortunately we didn't have much time to spare. Next time I wouldn't miss it for sure.
Bukit Kutu should be on every hiker's to-do list especially if you're from around Klang Valley. The hike is not really difficult and the view from the top is simply spectacular. As always bring lots of water, some food and some kind of rain coat or rain poncho because it always rain up there.
