Malaysia: KL’s Forest in the city
Bamboo Forest Trail
Whenever I explore a certain place, I try to look more into areas and attractions closer to nature. And with this, I was quite impressed to find a forest at the heart of the cosmopolitan city of Kuala Lumpur. This is not just a recreational park at that or was made for that purpose of having a city forest, in fact it is one of the oldest permanent tropical rainforest in the country. Now let’s take a short hike into the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve.
Forest Trail information boards
It was quite a feat at first on trying to find the entrance to this so called Forest Reserve. When I got off at Bukit Nanas LRT Station, I tried looking for a sign or a gate entrance but only found and gallery and a shop selling some plants, organic and natural products. I found a map area of the reserve and knew where I was but it didn’t say that it was an entrance. It’s a bit vague so I asked a policeman there and he told me that there is a pathway there and gave me directions. I followed the trail which seems to be going up and when I found an information board about the forest I was confident I’m on the right track.
A forest trail
From the information board, there were two paths. On the left was a paved path and quite leveled. On the right, was a winding path going down and it seems untouched. Knowing that I’m in the center of the city, I’m confident I won’t get lost somehow so I took the path going down. As soon as I got a bit deeper, but still manage to hear the passing vehicles I was devoured by huge mosquitoes just like my climb in Bukit Tabur. Fortunately I brought my mosquito repellent cream and applied all over my exposed skin.
Entrance to the Jelutong Trail
The hike along the forest is quite easy. Along the path there are more mini information boards describing the numerous species of flora and fauna that can be seen in the area. Quite impressive really that despite being here at the center of the city, it still managed to maintain the excellent condition of the forest that some fauna like monkeys can freely wonder around even when there are sounds of vehicles or other urban distractions nearby. This is a very nice place to teach children about nature and taking care of it.
Entrance to the mini Canopy Walk
The hike along the trail which I later found out is called Merbau Trail only took about 30-45 minutes to finish. I also found out at the end point that the other trail which I didn’t go through is the Jelutong Trail. The former is much longer since its length is about 360meters while the later is only around 300meters. Also from that point there is another choice to head straight to the Bamboo Forest trail which looks picturesque and a perfect pic-nic area or a small flight of stairs going up where a sign that says Menara Tower. Since it was already late in the afternoon and the sky is getting a bit dark, I went upstairs to head to the tower.
The canopy walk
Upstairs is an open field with a playground and some pic-nic tables and chairs. I was able to have a nice view of the famous Kuala Lumpur Menara Tower from here. Heading straight towards the tower, I found myself at the entrance of a mini canopy walk. Pretty amusing and I’m sure kids would really enjoy passing by it. I did.
Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower
After the canopy walk, I found myself at the foot of the Menara Tower. It’s quite interesting passing by this trail to head to the tower. It’s an unconventional route but a fun one. Most people would just head straight to the tower not knowing about the forest trail below. All in all I was contented exploring this forest reserve which was gazetted as a Forest Reserve in 1906. I couldn’t commend more on Malaysian government in maintaining this green lung of their city. I should expect them to do a good job like this since Malaysia is one of the 12 mega bio diversity countries in the world.
Tags: Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Menara Tower
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Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 at 11:14 pm 
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July 11th, 2007 at 4:37 am
iba ka talaga ferdz! galing ng adventure mo ha.. mag-isa ka lang nung time na yan? ndi ba nakakatakot?
as usual the photos are great… esp the first pic
naku parang na-imagine ko kung gaano kakalaki yung mga lamok hehe, sus malamang matuyo ang dugo mo sa kanila LOL…
well, keep on travelling and thanks for always sharing it with us
TC
July 11th, 2007 at 7:34 am
ano ba yan.. tuwing sumisilip ako rito sa site mo.. para akong yelong natutunaw sa inggit…
meron ka bang baguio adventure.. di ko pa ata nakita!??
July 11th, 2007 at 7:36 am
ganda pics. you have amazing travels. keep them coming. love the first picture. could stay under the bamboo tree with just a book and a cup of joe and spend the day there.
July 11th, 2007 at 10:51 am
pambihira, nung nasa KL ako, hanap-hanap ko yang lintek na tower na yan di ko makita, hehe. engot ko talaga sa direksyon. anyway, tong forest reserve na ito, kamukha ng Makiling Forest Reserve natin, nakapunta ka na ba dun? lagi kase ako dun, siyempre lapit lang UPLB. josko, marami ding lamok! pero hindi siguro kaseng maintained nitong Bukit Nanas. Nagpunta ka ba ng Batu Caves? (*parang naitanong ko na ata ‘to sayo. sensya na kung para akong sirang plaka).
p.s. meron na akong D80…yahoo.oo! wala lang. diko pa nase-set up.
July 11th, 2007 at 11:27 am
this is what we need exactly. kaya nga asar na asar ako sa nangyari sa arroceros forest park when i visited last sunday. the city needs more of these green spaces
July 11th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
This place looks so familiar Kuya Ferdz … Nyahaha!
I hope you enjoyed the reserved forest as much as I did last time.
July 11th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
next time you travel, you need an assistant to carry your cameras? i volunteer:)
kidding aside, ganda ng pics..thanks again for sharing and making me jealous
July 11th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
galing ah! Di pa nasa Zamboanga ka pa lang last time, nasa KL na naman ngayon?!
Amazing talaga!
July 11th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
it kinda look like la mesa dam. though more plaesant.
July 12th, 2007 at 12:29 am
wow. amazing… parang you wouldnt think its in the middle of the city noh? napaka adventurous talaga hehe…
i like the canopy walk… looks nice…
July 12th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
I’m so green with envy w/ your travel experience but I’ll just keep on dreaming that one day I’ll experience it as well.Been missing those tall bamboos!
July 12th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
wow! i knew KL has this but didnt get the chance to see it. and to think i was there for 4 days. if i knew it’s this beauty, i would have spent more of my hours there just lounging. but, it gives me again a reason to visit malaysia
oh and btw, nice shot of the menara eh!
July 13th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
huwaw nakapunta ka na jan sa forest reserve? ang ganda! nung pumunta ako jan sa downtown kl at genting highlands lang ang napuntahan ko, di pa nasulit.
July 13th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
wow! it’s beautiful, it’s clean, no candy wrappers or fruit peelings. sana marami ring ganyan dito sa atin.
July 13th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
remember ko KL trip kahit sandali lang adventures. hinanap rin namin yan menara by walking all the way from corus hotel na medyo malapit sa petronas
post ko kaya yung trip na yun after my singapore series
wala na ba tayo next photo-op? july 28 pwede ka? do let me know. i’m just a text away
July 13th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
i like the first picture. very serene .
July 14th, 2007 at 1:38 am
hi ferdz. thank you so much. now i know what else to see in KL aside from the petronas and the skydiving simulator in genting =) i’m not too keen on shopping. i want ADVENTURE hehehe!
July 14th, 2007 at 4:39 am
What a treat! I love discovering places like this. I think I probably would have taken the same route you did
July 14th, 2007 at 10:00 am
I wish I could cross to that canopy walk.
The Bamboo Forest Trail looks neat!
July 15th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Very nice! I love the first photo. I can just hear the swooshing of the leaves . And that trail sounds like a really fun and ineresting walk to have. Plus with a nice tower to end upp with. cool!
July 15th, 2007 at 2:13 am
i agree with your last paragraph.. it’s the tower that it’s emphasized or mentioned or notived most of the time and not the trail. sayang lang! kse ang ganda ng trail with your description and yung pictures! i especially love the first picture
July 15th, 2007 at 4:20 am
I saw these actual spots on TV when I watched the first few episodes of The Amazing Race Asia. The Menara Tower was one of their pit stops and they had to go through the, as you said, unconventional route thru the Forest Reserve to get to it. This is what I admire about Kuala Lumpur. Sustainable development.
Great pics as always Ferdz.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Looks good! I’ve yet to reach the shores of Malaysia. But I’m thinking that it’s way better than Thailand. Although Thailand is a shopping mecca for me! I’ll find time to explore this area if ever I’ll go to Malaysia this year.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
i love bamboos pero makati.. allergy…