Membara at Bukit Kembara, Ampang

Hey there! Welcome back to The Hana and Nat Adventures Blog. Honestly, we have been a little bit occupied lately. With the MCO and state travel finally lifted, we also finally left the house for a hike- Bukit Kembara in Ampang Jaya.

Generally, we pick our hikes based on a few factors:

• The difficulty of hike– elevation, distance, terrain, animals residing in the said area (haha)

• Peak or lookout point

• Drive distance from KL

• Facilities nearby– food, toilets, petrol, medical assistance

It was easy to decide on Bukit Kembara- it’s only a 15-20 minutes drive from the centre of KL in Taman TAR, Ampang.

It peaks at about 270masl. Slightly further in from the peak, you’ll find a beautiful lake (some say it’s better than the Mirror Lake in Shah Alam). Bukit Kembara is suitable for those who want a short, fun and vigorous hike. It took us about 2 hours to complete the hike from start to finish. Is it for beginners? If you exercise regularly, we think you’d be able to complete the hike.

To get to the location, we googled/wazed ‘Bukit Kembara Trailhead’. This will bring you to the start of the trail (conveniently and coincidentally (?) marked with a cute Red Shrine). Opposite the trailhead is an apartment. You can park alongside this road. (GPS Coordinates of trail head: 3.158312, 101.775266).

We started our hike at 8am on a Saturday. Parking the car by the roadside opposite a school, we walked about 3 minutes to reach the Red Shrine. The roads were lined with tall and mature trees. It was a cool and calm morning with a cloudy sky. As we approached the trailhead, we could see groups of hikers chatting away happily. It felt liberating to be outside but we still felt a little anxious seeing groups of people.

The start of the hike was pretty steep WALAO!

10 minutes in, we wondered if we really wanted to do this hike haha. Luck was on our side though- the ground was dry, there were ropes to offer extra support along the route and the steps were clear and defined. We met a few out-of-breath hikers along the way which felt strangely reassuring haha.

After about 15 minutes of panting, the elevation eased a good bit. As we were walking leisurely, we were greeted by a group of monkeys.

They kept their distance as Hana held on to her curry puffs tightly and out of sight.

We hiked for another 15 minutes and reached a clearing- we have reached the peak. The peak is a good place for you to rest up before making your way to the lake. The large clearing will give you enough space to chill, have a drink while adhering to the social distancing rules.There was a pull up bar, a few benches and a tree marked with the elevation. We took a few pictures here and headed for the lake.

After 10 minutes of hiking, a grey sheen among the trees came to view. ‘Is there a concrete clearing up ahead before we reach the lake?’ Nat asked. Nope- it was the lake surface, reflecting the clouds up above!

We ooh and ahh-ed.

That’s how long we haven’t left the house! So jakun! The lake was beautiful. We continued on, going around the lake until we reached the short pier. It was a nice spot for pictures (and curry puffs). After 10 minutes of rest, we headed back. We definitely saw something swimming in the lake! Hana says it’s a python. Nat thinks it’s a monitor lizard. Could it be a crocodile? Or a dead body? OMG.

The journey back to the start was much shorter but still challenging as the steps were pretty steep.

We can’t imagine what the trail would be like after rain. A friend of ours once shared a tip to go fast downhill – ‘Don’t think, just go. Trying to stop or killing the momentum of going downhill is why people get injured’. Did we try this? Hmm, maybe on the next hike eh?

All in all, it was a good, short and vigorous hike. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the peak, 10 minutes to reach the lake, 30 minutes around the lake and another 40 minutes back to the start. Based on our tracker, that was about 7.6k steps.

Will we consider doing it again? Definitely! We hope you enjoy reading our blog. Have you been hiking anywhere recently? Do let us know!

xx