Kluang, Gunung Belumut & Gunung Lambak (Malaysia) – Day 1

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Introduction

Singapore might not have a lot of hiking options but there are actually a few mountains in the nearby state of Johor, Malaysia.  A few of these gunungs (malay for mountains) are Gunung Ledang (aka Mt Ophir), Gunung Belumut, Gunung Lambak, Gunung Panti and Gunung Pulai.

For this trip, we are heading to Kluang town to hike the 1,010m high Gunung Belumut.  We also decided to stay overnight in Kluang to explore the area a little.

We brought along a GPS receiver and managed to track the route and waypoints shown below.  If you would like a copy of the file in Garmin GDB format, just post a comment and I will send the download link to your email.

Day 1 – Gunung Belumut

We chartered a one-way coach who picked us up at 6am in Singapore.  The first stop was Rail Hotel in Kluang where we confirmed our reservation and dropped off our extra stuffs unnecessary for the hike.

It’s drizzling and nobody was in a hurry so we tried the famous coffee and bun.

There were not a lot of information online on how to get the permit for hiking Gunung Belumut but one of them pointed to the police station.  So we went there but realised they do not issue permits.

We decided to head straight to Belumut base and see what happens. The road to Belumut is actually marked with clear signs.

This is the office located at the entrance to Gunung Belumut.

Anybody can translate the following?  I think it contains information for the permit.  Anyhow, we were lucky as there was an official guide who was taking another Singapore group up the mountain.  By right, we would need to apply for a permit at the forestry department.  We discussed and was allowed to tag along.

The entrance of Gunung Belumut.  We officially started the hike at 11am.

There were leeches and it’s recommended to wear socks and long pants.

Gloves would come in handy as some parts require you to pull yourselves up the steep slopes.

Here’s the false summit.  Head west for the true summit.  It will take just another 10 minutes.

View from the real summit.  We took about 3.5 hours for the hike up to reach at 230pm.  There is huge boulder named the Crown Rock on the summit.

Back to the false summit.  It’s a nice area for rest and replenishment.

Somehow I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the surroundings on the hike up.   I guess we were just determined to the reach the top before the cut-off time.  The guide told us we would have to turn back at around 2pm plus if we still had not reach the summit.

So now I managed to take a few photos of some of the flora.

A wild orchid?

Pitcher plants.

We finally reached the base at around 6pm.

Ah, a warning not to climb Gunung Belumut without a permit.

My friends had arranged for another vehicle which soon arrived and drove us back to Rail Hotel.  We had a nice hot bath before going out for dinner.

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant recommended by the driver.  For supper, we had durians and watermelons at a road-side stall opposite Rail Hotel.

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98 thoughts on “Kluang, Gunung Belumut & Gunung Lambak (Malaysia) – Day 1”

  1. Interesting.

    Never done any serious treking before and recently taking an interests in it.

    Will be planning one with a friend this coming March.

    Appreciate is you could give me the route in GBD format as I have a Garmin Montana.

    Thank you so much.

    X’mas and Happy New Year.

    Regards
    Alex

  5. Hi there,

    Chance upon your blog. Its a very interesting read.

    I m actually trying to plan for a one day Gunung Berlumut Climb too. … is it easy to just drop by the park and get a permit and guide without advance booking?

    Thanks in advance.

  9. Hey,
    I needed info for getting the permit for Gunung Belumut climbing. Could you mail me please ?
    Any contact numbers would be great too.
    Regards,
    M

  10. Hi there,

    I have the same question as per above too. is it ok to go directly without pre-applying for permit?

    Thanks!

  15. Hi,
    I would like to know info for getting the permit for Gunung Belumut climbing. Could you mail me please ?

  16. With my limited understanding on malay language, it says that it cost RM150 for the permit/group, and it seems like it did not state the price for the guide.

    I am thinking of driving there from Singapore in the morning, do you think this is a good idea or should I be staying over the night before?

    Thanks in advance!

  17. Hi both,

    We weren’t able to apply for the permit on the spot. For that you need to apply a few days in advance at the local authorities. Guide is mandatory.

    Driving there from Singapore early in the morning is feasible. An overnight stay would of course be more comfortable.

    If you need help arranging for transport, permit and guide, feel free to contact me.

    Thanks.

  18. Never quite understood the guide/permit thing really. It is a clearly marked trail, which should be opened for public hike, the hiring of guide at that cost is just a rip-off.

    Gunung Nuang in selangor is of 1493m with more trecherous and challenging path yet they only charge RM2 for unlimited entry in a day (that is if you can manage go up and down few times in a day!) per person, sometimes they even waive it if you start earlier than 5am. Also, the park ranger maintains the mountain well.

    If I were to make it a routine hike, I need to fork out RM150 for climbing a mountain that mother nature granted us?

  19. Hi,

    Is it possible to complete the trek within a day. Can I also get more information about transport, guide and permit? Thanks!

  20. Hi Shine,

    From my understanding, a permit is used by some natural parks to restrict the number of visitors. It ensures all visitors are properly registered and reports of missing hikers can be easily verified against their registrar. Compared to mountains in China where one had to pay a lot more to climb stairs with shops, I find Malaysian mountains to be of good value.

    I feel a guide still has its place especially for hikers new to the mountain. A guide can help to manage time (enough time to descend before darkness?), provide information about the mountain, take care of weaker hikers and basically any emergencies.

    But I do understand that it can be a little costly for a small group of hikers and/or for repeated hikes. Maybe they can implement an experience hiker system where experience hikers need not have a guide and just need to pay for basic entry fees. 🙂

  22. Hi Atticus,

    We are planning a treking trip for 7 people to Mt Belmut, Kluang from 22 to 24 August 2014 for 3 days 2 nights.

    Our plan is to leave singapore on Friday night (22 Aug), hike up Mt Belumut on 23 Aug (Sat), stay one more night and come back to Singapore on Sunday, 24 Aug.

    Besides treking, we are also thinking of having a taste of the local foods and some sight seeing.

    I have totally no idea how to go about doing it.

    Would appreciate greatly if you could let me know the details in arranging for transport, permit, accomodation and guide.

    Thank you in advance.
    Michelle

  23. Hi, Can you provide guide how to apply permit? I’m planning to go next week.

  25. Hi Attiicus

    Appreciate your advice on getting permits and guides for climbing Gunung Belumut. I’m planning to go over the National Day weekend. If getting permission on the spot may not be successful for permits, how much earlier should we go just to be sure?

    Do you also have information about permits and guides for Gunung Panti near Kota Tinggi?

    Thanks for your you help.

    SB

  26. Hi Seng Beng,

    Permits are not issued on the spot. You should need about 3-5 working days in advance to get the permit.

    More information is sent to your email.

    Regards,
    Hock Sing

  27. Hi Attiicus,

    Planning a trip over there with friends too, can send me the info on the permit? Thanks!

    btw any idea if it is still possible to camp near the summit?

  31. Hi Atticus,

    I have a group of 12 friends keen to climb Gunung Belumut in October.
    Appreciate if you could advise on how to obtain permits and a guide.

    Previously we went Gunung Panti with Mr Azahar, wonder if you have his contact?

    Many thanks!

  33. Hi Atticus,

    I have a group of around 10 friends keen to climb Gunung Belumut in October and Gunung Panti in Dec.

    Appreciate if you could advise on how to obtain permits and a guide as well as the download link for the GPS trails you have. Thanks!

  37. Hi, could u give me more info on where & how to apply for e permit & guide? V r planning to go nxt mth.

  38. Hi, appreciate if you could advise on how to obtain permits and a guide , for a group of 7, intend to climb in Dec. Thanks in advance.

  40. Hi,
    do i need any permit just to camp 1 night at the foot of the hill beside the stream?
    Or i can just come and inform the management on the day itself?
    Thank you.

  41. Hi Atticus,

    I have a group of 20 friends keen to climb Gunung Belumut in October.
    Appreciate if you could advise on how to obtain permits and a guide.

  43. Hi Attics

    I inetend to go Mt. Lambak with a few friends to try out the hiking experience on 9 Nov 2014. Do I need to apply permit? Do you still have groups going there or other hiking trip at this period?

  45. Hi
    Planning a day trip to Mt Belumut too, need information on permit application and guide. Appreciate if you can help.

    Thank you

  46. Hi Atticus,

    We are a group of 4 (all from UK) and planning to climb Mount Belumut with 2 other local people. If we have local people with us, do we still have to obtain a permit and a guide?
    Can you send me the detail about where and how to apply for a permit and a guide?

    Thank you

  49. Hi atticus,

    Would really love to have your guide to getting a permit / guide and if possible the driving direction? Planning to go there for a 1 day hike and come back. Are there lodging for washing up etc, and car park which we can park our cars?

    Thanks!

  50. Hi, could you advice how to get the climbing permit. Do you also need to go to the police station to stamp a nominal role? Where do you get that document. Appreciate your help! Thanks

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