Ketumbar Hill
Looking for a place to go hiking in KL? Situated in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Ketumbar Hill is a loop trail that’s roughly 300 meters above sea level and 2.1km in length. It is located near two other hiking hotspots—Apek Hill and Saga Hill. In fact, they are interconnected forests!
What makes this community hike so popular is the wild boars at the peak. Surprisingly, no one talked about the families of monkeys that were also here! Also, the jungle gym at the peak garden is pretty interesting too!
Ketumbar Hill can get quite crowded during the weekends with free (but limited) and paid parking at the start of the trail. We arrived at 9.30 A.M. on a Saturday and were lucky enough to find a spot as some were already leaving after their early morning hike.
Estimated duration: 1-2 hours
With that being said, let’s get into it!
Table Of Contents
Getting To Ketumbar Hill
Google Map: Get to Ketumbar Hill Parking Lot
Coordinates: 3.10317, 101.75337
Hiking To The Peak
Start Of The Trail
One thing we like about Ketumbar Hill is the straightforward and direct route up. It’s impossible to get lost in the forest as this is a loop trail with only one entrance.
At the start of the track, you will see plenty of cars lining up the road. At the end of the road are a fruit stall, egg stall, soy sauce stall, and the start of the trail. If you’re lucky enough, you will already see wild boars at the start of the trail.
Then, you will be greeted with a flight of staircase and two branched-out routes. Here, you will have to choose either left or right.
Two Different Routes
Left Route: Roughly 20 minutes
This route is shorter with a consistent steep ascend. Even so, this is the fastest route to the peak. We took this way down.
Right Route: Between 40 minutes – 1 hour
Takes longer with ups and downs as well as flat grounds and streams. You will also come to a lookout overlooking the KL skyline.
If there was rain the day before, then going down from the longer route would be much more dangerous because it can be really slippery. Thankfully, ropes were tied to trees for hikers to hold onto.
Lookout
Going up from the longer route, you will come to a forked-out trail with the lookout on your right. It’s best that you stop here to enjoy the view as there really isn’t much view to look at when you’re at the peak.
Peak Garden
Continue moving along the trail and you will come to a few more branched-out trails. Don’t worry about choosing the wrong route and getting lost because all of them lead to the same place, which is the peak garden.
If you choose the longer route up, then there will be a part where you will go down a gentle descend before you are greeted by the colorful cloths hanging on top at the peak garden.
The opposite side in which you enter the peak garden will be the side where you will go down and complete the loop. When in doubt, ask the other hikers.
Wild boars and monkeys will gather around the peak garden. A hiker told us that there used to be hundreds of them at the peak garden. When we were there, the wild boars stood at the very far end because there were many dogs there chasing after them (as well as the monkeys). We were unsure if they were aggressive, but it seemed like they weren’t.
Jungle Gym (Literally!)
The jungle gym impressed me so much. There was plenty of gym equipment that the local hikers altered and assimilated with nature to create something else! It’s an art in its entirety!
In A Nutshell
Ketumbar Hill is certainly a good place to go hiking in KL. We spent 2 hours on the entire trail because we rested a lot at the peak garden. Those who find the hike unchallenging could continue doing weight exercises at the jungle gym.
Don’t forget to bring plenty of water and a hiking stick (if you have bad knees). Throughout the walk, we saw a few hikers bringing their small-sized dogs on the hike, ranging from chihuahua to corgis. Just keep an eye out because there were other stray and pet dogs, as well as wild boars and monkeys at the peak when we were there.
Happy hiking!
p/s: Let me just jump in real quick. If you’re wondering how I edit my photos, then head over to my preset store to check them out! My presets are always my go-to choice whenever I edit my hiking/nature photographs! If you’re interested in purchasing my preset, do know that half of the profit will go to charity!
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