Instant gratification is possible in the world of hiking. Bukit Guling Ayam in Gombak delivers monster views in minimum time.
Even as an avid hiker with a keen sense of curiousity, I can deveIop a blindness towards my environment.
Take Bukit Guling Ayam for example. Located on the MRR2 just before the turnoff to the Karak Highway, I’ve driven past the Petronas station and drive-through Starbucks at its foot countless times, but never looked up or noticed a hill there.
Despite its proximity to the (capital) city, Bukit Guling Ayam has flown under the radar and only came to my attention through the efforts of Kelvin and Jason of Trailblazer Hiking Club. That looks set to change now that Urban Ecolife Agrofarm, which has taken up residence close to the hilltop, is promoting it as, among other things, a hiking destination.
Bukit Guling Ayam’s attraction is that it’s part of the same Klang Gates quartz ridge as the notoriously beautiful but treacherous Bukit Tabur; it has 360 degree views; and entails a short and relatively easy hike.
The more direct route to its peak is via the concrete-pour road from the petrol station parking lot to the farm’s cafe. Once there continue past the planting beds for the grape vines and fig trees. The quartz ridgeline is on the right, and with some climbing you‘ll reach Bukit Guling Ayam’s craggy summit. Total hiking time from start: 20 minutes.
Like Bukit Tabur, which is closed to the public because of the danger climbing the fragile ridge poses to hikers, this route is also not without its risks.
A safer bet is through the forest and was the way that Trailblazer Hiking Club took. To maximise our morning, Kelvin and Jason mapped out a loop around the circumference of Bukit Guling Ayam, with Kelvin’s group (yours truly included) proceeding clockwise with a 10 minute head start and Jason’s group behind us doing it in reverse.
Similar to the direct route, we proceeded up the concrete-pour road, but deviated left through the nursery just after the black soldier fly production house. Once at the aquaponic house we ascended a wide dirt track before cutting left across the cleared hill slope to meet the forest.
It’s too bad the forest didn’t want to meet us. Guarded by a lattice of unwelcoming bamboo, we cleared it only to be confronted by swarms of thirsty mosquitos.
A trail wasn’t immediately apparent either. Fortunately a faint one emerged which we followed up and around the hill until the tree cover gave way to a carpet of ferns and unfettered views. We had summited. Total hiking time from start: 20 minutes.
Impressively for a 160 metre high hill, Bukit Guling Ayam bestows visitors with 1600 metre mountain level panoramas: Bukit Tabur to the west, Batu Caves to the east, the KL city skyline to the south, and the mountains on the Selangor-Pahang border to the north. Coupled with the changing colours of the sky as the sun rose we were enthralled.
After 40 minutes of drinking it all in, mostly with our cameraphones, we reluctantly departed the peak. Descending along Bukit Guling Ayam’s western flank, we detoured right leaving the obvious trail for a less perceptible one that skirts the perimeter of the hill.
Within 15 minutes we were stood at a clearing with a view across the old Gombak trunk road and Gombak River to the picturesque Kampung Sungai Chinchin. From what I would later gather through research, we were at the site of a lethal landslide.
According to news sources, the 2001 incident took place after a particularly heavy downpour. The deluge of silt and boulders that slid down the hillside damaged 2 homes, killing one person and injuring another.
In a report by the Selangor Department of Minerals and Geosciences, research conducted following the event revealed why. Bukit Guling Ayam is an unstable hill. Composed of layers of loose sandy soil and fractured quartz rock on top of a granite bedrock, when combined with the hill’s steep gradient, particularly on its north side, a landslide could be triggered following heavy or prolonged rain.
Not that I knew that at the time. Though one abandoned home did strike me as odd as it appeared to be built into the hill, I thought nothing of the large quartz rocks that scattered the slope as we picked our way through the tangled mess of secondary forest.
Nor did I look out for telltale signs of tilted trees and shrubs. Their presence would suggest soil creep which is an indicator of hill slope instability. Nope … I was too focused on not tripping on a root or vine and tumbling 10 metres into someone’s concrete garden.
At a lot occupied by junk cars we came to a trail that ran perpendicular to ours, originating from the roadside heading up towards the saddle of the hill. We followed it past Urban Ecolife Agrofarm’s bee farm to behind the farm’s microgreen production area and cafe.
Alas it was too early for breakfast so we trudged uphill towards the start of the quartz ridge (from the direct side) and took one last look at Bukit Tabur before calling it a day.
The concrete-pour road was our obvious way back to the carpark. But as nothing about today had been obvious we traipsed through the forest that runs parallel to it and exited beside the black soldier fly production house. Our hike was over, but having taken less than 2 hours with lots of stops our day was just beginning.
7am Start hiking
7.05am Enter forest
7.20am Summit
8am Leave peak
8.20am Reach landslide scar
8.45am Arrive at cafe
8.50am Reach ridgeline (did not climb)
8.55am Final turnaround
9am Leave cafe
9.05am Back at starting point
Altitude 163 metres.
Distance and time Direct route: approximately 480 metres one-way. Indirect route (through forest): approximately 800 metres. Both take approximately 20 minutes. Complete loop 2.3 kilometres over a leisurely 2 hours including breaks.
Pros Short. Easy. 360 views.
Cons Mosquitos. Wear a long-sleeve tee and long pants, and carry insect repellent.
Rating Easy albeit technical climbing if you’re proceeding directly along the quartz ridge route. Be mindful that this route is hazardous as quartz is predisposed to breakage.
Leech count Zero.
Permits Currently there’s no indication that a forestry department permit is required.
Facilities Public toilets are located at the petrol station at Petronas Lingkaran Karak.
Parking Free at Petronas Lingkaran Karak but this is a high traffic area so park considerately.
Tip As parts of Bukit Guling Ayam are landslide prone, avoid during or following heavy rainfall.
GPS coordinates (parking and starting point) 3.240792, 101.716729. Waze Petronas Lingkaran Karak.
While you’re there pick up some plants and go green. Urban Ecolife Agrofarm grows microgreens and wheatgrass for human consumption and produces honey from stingless bees. They also sell fruit tree saplings, herbaceous and decorative plants and microgreen seeds for growing at home, and stock vermicompost and azolla, a freshwater fern used as animal feed and plant fertiliser.
Urban Ecolife Agrofarm Lot 4584, Batu 6, Gombak, Jalan MRR2, 68100, Selangor. T: +60 19 718 3581 Open: Mon-Fri: 9am-5.30pm, Sat: 9am-12pm; Closed: Sun. W: urbanecolifeagrofarm.com F: www.facebook.com/urbanecolifeagrofarm/ I: http://www.instagram.com/urbanecolifehq/
The farm’s resident Ecolife Hilltop Cafe has a limited menu which consists of simple local fare such as burgers, spaghetti bolognese and nasi lemak all of which are served with a helping of microgreens. Diners so far rave about the fig sambal. Wash it all down with a wheatgrass smoothie.
Ecolife Hilltop Cafe T: 016 597 9550 Open: Daily 9am-10pm F: http://www.facebook.com/ecolifehilltopcafe/ I: http://www.instagram.com/nurul_ecolife/
POKOK KELAPA 
Hi. May i know is the trail path is clear? Need guide? Thanks
Sorry for the late reply. The direct route is quite straightforward. The route I took is not. Suggest you check AllTrails for the trail map.
wow, great and seems so fascinating. Would like share it with friends and probably they will love it too to come visit and experiencing it
Nature is best shared. : )