Mount Pulai situated near to Johor Bahru,capital city of Johor state. Mount Pulai is about 654 meter high. So technically it is not high enough to be labelled as a mountain. To reach there, you can go by using North-South Highway and take Kulai Exit. Then you need to go through a palm estate before reaching a village named Kampung Sri Gunung Pulai. There are several chalets if you wish to stay overnight before start hiking. You will need to park your car about 1 km from the main entrance.
The distance between the entrance to the summit is about 5 km. If you're a beginner, I highly recommend you to do some simple exercise to get a good stamina and endurance before you start climbing the mountain. The hiking trip takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to reach the summit. So, the total time you need to climb the mountain and get back to the parking area is about 4 hours, depending on your speed. Please do some warm up exercise to avoid muscle cramp and don't forget to bring enough water. To hike this mountain, you don't need to pay for any permit or hire any guide.
Our journey started at 6 am after Subuh prayer because we wanted to see the sun rise but if you wish to start hiking at 9 or 10 am, it is still fine. So for those who want to start hiking earlier, please bring along a torchlight. Unlike the other mountains, the trails toward the summit is a straightforward climbing up a paved road. No need to bring any special equipment for the trip. As you climbing up the mountain, you will find a junction that leads to a waterfall (I will describe about the waterfall later). Along the trip, you can see a magnificent virgin rain forest full with giant trees. If you want to know more about the forest, click here.
After almost 2 hours of climbing, we finally reached the dead end of the road. We cannot reach the summit as there was a telecommunication tower guarded by the military. But the scenery was so beautiful misty and we can hear the sound of water flow (probably the source of waterfall), monkeys and insects. We grabbed the opportunity to take some good photos here for memory and spent almost an hour enjoying the calm atmosphere and beautiful scenery.
As we heading downhill, we stopped at the waterfall. Basically, the waterfall was not big like the other waterfall. For me, it was a suitable waterfall for everyone, including the kids. You will need to climb several meters high to get into it. But unfortunately, the area has no maintenance causing the area of lower part of the stream was full of rubbish. Hopefully, the authorities or even the nearby villagers can do something about it in the future.
So that's all my story. I hope this article can give a better picture about the mount Pulai for those who wish to climb it one day. I wish you good luck and welcome Johor!
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