All the magic of a Malaysian mossy forest in a short, sweet, highly accessible hike.
I love to share my love of hiking with friends, but we all have different fitness and comfort levels and I’d be a rubbish pal if I dragged a non-hiking buddy on a trek up a hill I knew I could tackle easily but they couldn’t. So, even through I relish a challenge, one that takes me further, higher and sometimes deeper into my own physical and mental boundaries, I do get excited for short hikes with big payoffs, because, once sussed out, I get to share them with people I care about.
Coral Hill in Cameron Highlands is one such hike. At 1573 metres, reaching its peak sounds daunting, but with a starting altitude of 1556 metres, an elevation gain well under 50 metres and a trail less than 1 kilometre, Coral Hill is equitable, achievable and easily squeezed into a single morning.
You can access Coral Hill from Sungai Burung or as Khairul and I did, behind Cameron Highland’s Time Tunnel Museum. It can be completed as a through hike (A-B), a 1 kilometre loop (from the Sungai Burung surau) or as an out and back (A-A). We completed it as an out and back.
The trailhead is located on Jalan Sungai Menson, past a row of industrial units and on the other side of a concrete bridge across a small river. We entered just right of a marked streetlight. The trail is marred by old industrial litter which is embedded into the dark spongy soil – not a great first impression.
The hard work, if you can call it that, starts after a clearing . The forests of Cameron Highland are of the upper montane variety and even in the absence of rain, persistent exposure to passing cloud due to the location’s high altitude keeps locations like Coral Hill moist and muddy. Ferns glisten with dew and tendrils of velveteen moss cling to wisened tree branches resulting in a verdant wonderland straight out of a fairytale.
Where the mud is deepest, alternative trails have formed but we tried to stick to the main trail, scuttling around the edges of the mud pools and ducking under low hanging branches to not always successful outcomes. Inclines are gentle, and rudimentary wooden ladders have been strategically placed to aid the ascent, the last of which is just beneath Coral Hill’s craggy ridgeline.
The cloud forest and its lack of undergrowth can create a confusing labyrinth particularly at the top where trails converge, including those originating from Sungai Burung. Stay right and the brush hedges will give way to open sky.
On a clear day you can see the telecommunication towers that mark the peak of Gunung Brinchang from Coral Hill but on our visit it played hide and seek with us from behind drifting clouds.
The foliage here that is enthralling. Exposed to the elements the hilltop provides the ideal habitat for lichen, mosses, and a variety of nepenthes (pitcher plants).
Rampant clearing of nearby hill slopes between Kea Farm and Brinchang means that Coral Hill is one of the few not denuded for growing vegetables and flowers. For those whose access to nature is limited, Coral Hill provides an easily accessible reminder to all of Cameron HIghland’s natural treasures and what we stand to lose if development and agriculture is not regulated.
Hiked 28 August 2023.
Altitude 1573 metres.
Distance and time Under 1 kilometre. 20 to 30 minutes up, at a slow pace. Can be completed within 1 hour.
Rating Easy, but there is some crawling involved, and you will get dirty.
Leech count None.
Permits None required.
Costs None.
Pros Short, sweet and a great introduction to hiking in Cameron Highlands.
Cons Muddy.
Facilities None.
Parking Small area for parking after an industrial area and across a narrow concrete bridge.
GPS coordinates (trailhead) 4.49657, 101.39704
GPS coordinates (parking) 4.496806, 101.396772
View my AllTrails map here. Here’s a link if you wanna complete Coral Hill as a loop from Sungai Burung.
POKOK KELAPA 