Gunung Hantu Besar and Lata Kajang

Last week I finally conquered Gunung Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Mountain), or rather it felt like it conquered me!  I have been to Lata Kajang and walked the trails around the base of the mountain many times so it was about time I made the effort to get to the top.  Rather than camp and do it in two days as many people do, I decided with a friend, to smash it in a day.  Standing at 1462m or 4796ft this was always going to be a good workout.  Starting out from the waterfall just after 9:00 we made it to the summit by 1:30, had a half hour break at the top before being chased down the mountain by a big thunderstorm to arrive back at the waterfall by 5:00 pm.

Me exhausted at the summit

The trail up the mountain is particularly beautiful with plenty of clearings where you can look out across the jungle clad mountains.  The vegetation changes as you get higher with lovely red Rhododendron malayanum blooms and many of the small flowering herbs that you see in the Cameron Highlands present on the path.  The final ascent is quite steep through deep moss and cobweb clad gulleys dripping with moisture from the passing clouds.  From this part of the climb it was clear to see why it was named ghost mountain as it had quite an eerie feel to it.  I had planned to take a few more photos on the way back down, but the thunderstorm ended any hopes of getting the camera out. The view from the top was also a little obscured as the clouds started to thicken. There are two peaks that can be reached from the trail; Kecil (Small) or Besar (Big). Of course we chose big.

Looking out from the summit to Gunung Hantu Kecil

Gunung Hantu Besar right and Gunung Hantu Kecil left in the distance seen from the car park above Lata Kajang

It was nice to see the Rhinoceros Hornbills (Buceros rhinoceros) that previously nested in the tree in the picture above were still flying about in the area.


I took these shots previously when the male seen here was feeding the female sealed in the nest hole.

Rhinocceros hornbills on the money.

The walk up Hantu Besar whilst we had good weather was particularly nice and there were a couple of great camping spots along the way that I would like to return to.  One of these called Kem Orkid (Camp Orchid) had a great views across the mountain near it and is named after the Bamboo orchids that grow in profusion in the area.

Arundina graminifolia (Bamboo Orchid)

One of the views from the trail early in the walk.

Unusual ginger flowers can be found along the trail.

Kallima limborgii (Malayan Oakleaf)  

Kallima limborgii (Malayan Oakleaf)  Underside

On the way up I did manage to photograph this rare iridescent blue butterfly. At rest its underside is beautifully camouflaged as a dead leaf.

The waterfall, Lata Kajang, at the end of the walk is stunning and great to jump in to cool down. This time the water was a little brown as it was in flood but I still could not resist a dip in the river to wash and cool down.  Previously I have sat under the cascade, but this time the water was a little to powerful to get in safely.

Me in the cascade. The log in the picture has been removed since this was taken.

Lata Kajang

Lata Kajang now without log

Lata Kajang

Beautiful orchids (Spathoglottis plicata) are also sometimes in flower on the canyon wall by the waterfall.

I took this shot previously in the canyon above the fall.  Harpactes duvaucelii (Scarlet-rumped Trogon) 

Graphium antiphates itamputi (Fivebar Swordtail). I took this near the first camp-site last year.

The area around these trails is pretty rich in wildlife on account of the good condition of the forest.  It is probably best to stick to the main trails however; a few weeks ago I explored a trail that unbeknownst to me led to an Orang Asli settlement.  We must have woken them up and surprised them because as their dogs started barking five fellas carrying blowpipes came running out of their huts.  After a few smiles and a largely failed attempt at communication, we got little reaction so we decided to turn and retrace our steps.

The jungle clad canyon wall

There is a lot of development currently happening on the way up to Lata Kajang with the building of a new road through the Oil Palm and Rubber plantations.  The road up to the waterfall requires 4WD to get all the way up and even the approach roads where the road is being built are tricky. In fact we did pass one car stuck deep in the mud.  I hope that the development does not encroach on the waterfall or mountain in the future as it's relative inaccessibility for now means the environment there is in good shape.  This for now remains one of my favourite places to get out to from KL on a weekend.