Templer Park hike

I’ve visited Templer Park on 2 occasions and left with the woeful sense of a park neglected. Which is a shame as it has a lot going for it – a beautiful waterfall, clear streams, adequate facilities and its proximity to the capital.

Situated in Rawang, a stone’s throw away from Taman Eko Rimba Kanching and Taman Eko Rimba Komanwel, Templer Park (or Taman Eko Rimba Templer) is named after former British High Commissioner of Malaya and famed communist counter-insurgency leader Sir Gerald Templer.

Made a botanical garden and public park by decree of then Sultan of Selangor in 1955, sadly since then Templer Park has slowly been eked away for the development of highways and luxury properties much to the disappointment of conservationists. An important water catchment area, the park is also habitat to threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna such as the Sumatran serow, a rare and reclusive wild goat.

Once popular with weekend bathers and picnickers, the park’s murky stream-fed swimming pool and delapidated zig-zag bridges does little to entice visitors. Closer to the waterfall, recreational spaces and shelters are overgrown or toppled over, calling in to question the park authority’s commitment to maintenance. The lack or absence of cellphone service within the jungle further underlines the sense of abandonment that pervades the area.

For all that, Templer Park has a wild, largely undisturbed quality that neighbouring Taman Eko Rimba Kanching lacks. On a recent visit I heard gibbons hooting; while swathes of upturned soil and an abundance of blood-thirsty leeches indicated that mammalian life of the porcine kind thrived here. As such, Temper Park offers adventure hikers a short but more authentic bash through the Malaysian rainforest, but may be a deterrent to leisure hikers and weekend picnickers, especially with so many nearby urban parks and waterfalls to choose from. For that reason, don’t be surprised if you’re one of the few people here.

Templer Park carpark. Toilets and changing rooms are located at the far end.

A relatively new recreational area located between the carpark and park pool.The river runs directly in front of this area.

Traipsing along the tarmac road towards the pool.

The park’s man-made pool. River water flows into it and out on the other side.

The easy 1 hour hike to the waterfall begins on a short 500 metre narrow, uneven tarmac road. Leading from the carpark to a large man-made pool, it passes a relatively new recreational space along the way.

Look for this sign at the top of the stairs near the gazebo located at the far end of the pool.

Stairs at the bottom of the gazebo on the other side of the pool mark the start of the trail, though the trail isn’t always apparent. After walking around the left perimeter of a water catchment enclosure the riverside trail begins.

Immediately after the water catchment building, the trail meets with the river.

Two zig-zagging concrete bridges cross the shallow sandy-bottomed river in succession.

One of 3 zig-zagging bridges across the park’s river.

Following this, the trail becomes increasingly overgrown and at one point, fallen trees and branches forced Eric and I to make a brief detour into the river, which itself wasn’t free from debris.

The trail stays within close range of the river at all times.

Short concrete bridges. There are 4 in total along the route to the waterfall.

Mindful of keeping the trail within sight, we waded into the water and ducked between overhanging bamboo and under spiderwebs for 50 metres or so, even climbing across fallen logs before we were able to clamber up an embankment and return to the trail’s safety.

Having found no other way across the obstruction in the trail, Eric and I are forced to make a detour along the river.

Fortunately its a clear sunny day and the river is calm and shallow.

A 3rd and final zig-zag bridge appears less than 10 minutes from the waterfall.

The final zig-zag bridge before the falls.

My favourite of the fall’s two tiers, the lower tier is a photogenic cascade of cool, crystalline water gushing over glistening rocks. And though it’s not very tall, it’s quite beguiling.

The lower tier, the more inviting of the two.

In contrast, the upper tier seems to disappear in chiselled waves of granite up into the hill. It’s also wider with a sandy embankment suitable for picnickers. Were it not for the overhanging bamboo obscuring our view we would have been able to see over the edge to the lower tier below.

The upper tier – wider, taller and more impressive than the first. It also has plenty of space along its sandy embankment for a picnic.

The trail continues after this but only took us at far as the top of the upper tier as recent storms appear to have brought down a considerable amount of bamboo that are impossible for one person to clear quickly.

Given that the park is officially closed during the rainy season until 31st January 2020 on order of the Selangor State Forestry Department (Jabatan Perhutanan Negeri Selangor), Eric and I plan to revisit the falls to find out whether the obstructions we encountered were temporary or whether the park is being left to the elements.

9.50am Begin hike from carpark
9.55am Man-made river water pool
10am Pass water catchment building
10.05am 1st and 2nd zig-zag bridge
10.10am 1st of 4 short cement bridges
10.25am Detour and river bashing
11.40am Final zig-zag bridge
10.50am Arrive at waterfall

Altitude 212 metres (at the top of the 2nd tier).
Distance and time  3 kilometres or approximately 1 hour one-way.
Rating Easy. Trail is flat but is overgrown and may be obstructed.
Facilities Free parking, toilets and changing rooms.
Entry fee None.
Pros For a forest reserve close to the city, Taman Eko Rimba Templer offers a more authentic jungle experience to adventure hikers. Fewer visitors than other nearby parks and less rubbish.
Cons Lots of leeches. Trail overgrown and even obstructed in places.
Tip Wear leech socks and keep an eye on the weather. The trail follows the course of the river and has a reputation for rising quickly during rainy weather.

For the map and details go to my AllTrails map for Templer Park waterfall here. 

GPS coordinates 
Carpark 3.28620, 101.64417
Waterfall 3.29305, 101.65398