The lack of transparency surrounding land ownership and forest boundaries has turned weekend forays to mountain tops, lookout points and waterfalls into a minefield of red tape and shadowy permission requests. Thankfully, all it takes is some inspired map plotting and chutzpah to get to some destinations – beauty spot, lower Strata Falls is one of them.
The last time I was at Strata Falls was in August 2022 with Trailblazer Hiking Club. Trailblazer head honcho Kelvin Yee gained us access to the area via Diamond Creek Eco Farm with permission from the landowner and approved permits from the Perak Forestry Department. Outcome: We got to explore three falls: Lata Gerhang, upper Strata Falls and Lubuk Olimpik, a punchbowl fall midway between upper and lower Strata Waterfall.
The June 2024 excursion with KL Hiking would eliminate the need for permissions, permits or a guide, as we’d make our way to lower Strata Falls from the south via Proton City. One waterfall in one morning may make our trip sound shorter and easier. Trust me when I say it was not.
The first section of the route to lower Strata Falls shares the same route as that to Lata Perangin, a hidden waterfall at the foot of Gunung Behrang, which I explored with Trailblazer Hiking Club in December 2021.
After parking outside Ujana Escape, a full facility camping grounds with container cabins that opened in May, we began our journey with a quick 5 minute march along the tarmac road before turning left onto a dirt track through forest until we were engulfed by rows oil palm trees. Perangin Falls lay out of sight but not out of earshot. Too bad we had no time for a detour as we had another 1 and a half hour hike ahead of us.
I could describe KL Hiking’s route to lower Strata in detail but I’d be wasting your time. Trails change as they fall in and out of favour. They become overgrown or new trails replace old. This is particularly true of routes that pass through palm oil plantations as usage changes according to agricultural and economic needs. Palm oil plantations are also notoriously confusing: endless rows of identical trees criss crossed with gravel roads and dirt paths and few landmarks. 90% of this route was through palm oil plantations and many along hidden, barely-there trails.
Downloading the trail onto a hiking app is essential if you tackle this route. Otherwise you will get lost. We had the map and still missed a turn off, and hesitated numerous times when our map pointed us down barely discernible trails obscured by scrub.
One notable section had us forging through thickets of ferns, turning the trodden plants into our pathway as the small stream that had carved furrows in the clay alongside us was too narrow and slippery to offer any reasonable alternative.
Fortunately this section is short. Once on the other side of it, the trail opened up offering views of the valley as we gradually descended in the direction of a dirt road, where we made a right.
There was evidence of a bulldozer at work, its tyres having cut furrows into the rain softened clay. Parked beside 2 ramshackle shanties, the mud was thick, soft and hungry for shoes. I ended up feeding it. Misjudging the terrain I ended up standing road-side, one shoe off, the other mud-caked, socks heavily soiled. Bleh….
Salvation was at hand as I was able to wash off the muck during our river crossing, which I would have missed were it not for Alex beckoning from the other side. Cool, clear and up to our thighs in places, it was a wonderful taster of pleasures to come.
But not before some final hurdles…. Surmounting a recently dug ditch, we crossed it at its only dry section and with some team work made it up the steep bank on the other side.
Our final stretch was along a dirt road which ends overlooking lower Strata Falls. Rather than descend towards the small but inviting pool of water that lay at the base of this multi-tiered fall, I followed the handful of KL Hikers ahead of me up along the fall’s left flank towards a massive tree trunk that clung precariously to the upper ledge. It seemed oddly familiar … .
And then it all fell into place. Where Trailblazer Hiking Club had descended towards Lubuk Olympic from upper Strata, KL Hiking had ascended towards it from lower Strata.
We didn’t linger though and returned to the beckoning pool below for a delicious and well-deserved dip. It was a hot day so I didn’t need much convincing.
8.30am Start
8.35am Turn off into trailhead
8.40am Enter oil palm plantation
9.40am River crossing
10.15am Reach lower Strata Falls
Distance and time 6.3 kilometres, 1 hour 45 minutes one-way.
Rating Moderate. Not physically hard but does require a navigation app and the skills to use it.
Leech count Some.
Permits None.
Pros No paperwork needed.
Cons Don’t attempt this route if you don’t have the map downloaded to a navigation app on your phone and a fully charged phone and powerbank
Facilities Toilets in Ujana Muallim park.
Parking Free parking outside of Ujana Mualim along Jalan PC10, Proton City, in Tanjong Malim, Perak.
Tip Don’t fancy an early morning drive? Ujana Escape rents kitted out tents at RM60/night and container rooms from RM77/night (launch period promotional rate) at its full facility campsite.
T: +60 12 525 3297 / +60 11 2643 8211
F: https://www.facebook.com/people/Ujana-Escape/61559915245002/
I: https://www.instagram.com/ujanaescape/
GPS coordinates (parking and starting point) 3.74128, 101.54339
You can review my AllTrails route from Ujana Escape to lower Strata Falls here.
POKOK KELAPA 