The hike to the northern lookout point in Bukit Kiara is a worthwhile venture, but it is much too short for any hiker worth their salt tablets. Getting there from Mont Kiara is a swift one-hour roundtrip hike. Unless you live in the condos in the immediate vicinity, the travel time barely makes it worth it.
To give the journey more bulk and to make a morning or afternoon out of it, you can easily tack on an extra leg to the Bamboo Stop. This is a popular point of interest for hikers and bikers of Bukit Kiara. It is located a bit further south but still outside of the fence line if you’re coming from the north.
This post will build off of information from my previous post, Bukit Kiara Hike to Lookout Point. If you haven’t already, read that post first so that you are aware of the route markers that I’ll reference. This post will direct you on how to get from the lookout point to the hiker hub, the bamboo stop. I’ll also show you an alternate way out of Bukit Kiara that leads back to Jalan Kiara 7. This route passes through an amazing red clay mini canyon with a view of downtown Kuala Lumpur and is far more interesting than the way you entered.
This hike bumps up the challenge just a little bit over what you experienced during the lookout point hike. Expect more downhill sections instead of uphill, but there is still nothing too extreme or dangerous, in my opinion. Hiking from the lookout point to the bamboo stop should only take around 20 to 30 minutes. However, leaving and getting back to Jalan Kiara 7 will take about another hour on top of that. This makes the entire lookout point-bamboo stop journey a respectable 2 – 3 hour hike.
Once you’re finished at the lookout point, the route to the bamboo stop is straightforward. Turn back the way you came along the familiar path, past the rotten stump. After this, you’ll be faced with the route fork at the lone tree with one path going straight and one going left. This time, you’ll want to take the straight path to venture into new territory.
From here to the bamboo stop, there is a constant gentle upward slope but no crazy climbs. The path only diverges once, where you’ll want to stay on the right trail. At the next trail fork that looks like a roundabout, you will see the drooping bamboo on your left which signals your arrival at the Bamboo Stop.
This area has grown a surprising amount in less than a year. Since making a proper visit here in November last year, many of the bamboo stalks have grown fast. They bend and create a canopy, making this spot a little darker than it used to be.
Three sturdy benches are set up along with a helpfully labelled table under a small tarp. This spot is a good place to eat a packed lunch if you brought one since it will be about an hour until you’re out of Bukit Kiara.
On the opposite side are three more benches, but much more roughly hewn. Their height is quite low and they will be in various states of dilapidation.
You’ll hear them first before you see them, so keep an ear out for the rustling of branches and telltale “ooks.” Now that the bamboo overhead has grown so thick, be careful of monkeys who have seemingly moved into the bamboo stop. Today, a troupe of them were hanging out above us, slowly inching closer to our drinks and food. It looks like they gather exactly above the spot where Mark is standing to get the above picture, so watch your bag, hat and phone.
Once you’re done resting here, continue through the gap in a cluster of bamboo. You will get to a T-junction, at which point you’ll go left.
The trail begins to slope downhill. It’s gentle at first, but then there is this long, rather steep stretch that will work your upper thighs.
The path will split in two, but it is obvious which is the more travelled route. Stay on the right. Later, you might come across a long sawed log – a boundary that directs you off to the left, or perhaps a jury-rigged place to sit.
The trail is unspectacular until you get to a crossroad. This is actually the same intersection that you passed earlier when going to the lookout point. In this situation, you want to go straight to leave the Bukit Kiara area.
Within a couple of minutes, you will be spat out into another familiar junction. You should recognise this area with the purple flower shrub. Turn right so that the purple flowers are on your right-hand side and you can see two paths ahead of you. The one that forks left is the exact one you were on when you entered, but we are going to take the right forking path for something different. The alternate exit and secret viewpoint are down this way, and it is quite special.
Stay on the reddish path around the squat shrubs. At one point, the trail will split off and head deeper into the jungle. Stay on the more open right-hand path. It gets briefly squishy but at the end of the path, you will see a great big dirt hill on your left. There may even be a small shelter and someone’s drying clothes up there.
Climb to the top of this hill for a wonderful view of downtown Kuala Lumpur including the Petronas Towers. Down below, the bright orange canyon also makes for a remarkable sight, but you will get a chance to get a closer look.
Once you’ve had your fill, you want to head down this path on the left.
Stay under the open sky and do not take this branching path that goes back into the jungle. Down here you will be straddling the edge of the gorge and can admire the texture and rust colour of the earth. From here until the exit point, you need to watch your footing a bit more as it’s decently steep and uneven.
NOTE: on some visits, this path is severely overgrown and walking dangerously close to the gorge’s edge is required to proceed. I’ve done it, but it’s was a little scary. If the undergrowth is so thick that you can’t even recognize the above path, I would recommend turning back and just leaving Bukit Kiara the way you came in.
It is at this point that you want to re-enter the jungle. The alternative of going into the gorge looks way too dangerous. There will be this path on your left that looks like a tree tunnel. Go in here, and at first, the trail is pretty obvious. It’s downhill and slippery with dead leaves but there are scrawny trees you can grab onto for balance.
Close to the exit, the jungle gets thicker and the path seemingly vanishes. Don’t panic! At this point, you’re so close to Jalan Kiara 7 that you can probably see the condos through the trees. Just keep heading downward and eventually, this skinny path might appear in front of you.
This will lead to a clearing where the exit is through a gap in the steel fence in the right corner.
Once you’re back on the sweet pavement, there is a whole collection of urban poetry written on the corrugated steel fences that you can hunt for in this area of Mont Kiara to cap off your hike.
Trail Info
Address: Jalan Kiara 7, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Open 24 Hours
Duration: ~1.5 hours
Parking: Yes, on Jalan Kiara 7 (free)
Washrooms On Site: No
Hi!
Do we have to get permission to hike at Bukit Kiara to Lookout Point?
Hello E’en! Hiking and other solo activities are allowed for fully vaccinated individuals right now if that’s what you mean. No permission has ever been needed since there’s no one to enforce in this northern part of Bukit Kiara.