The International Steam Pages


Penang Hills and Trails - The Garden Funicular
Air Itam Dam to Paya Terubong

This is part of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang. Click here for the index. This is a Grade 2 walk. There is a sketch map at the bottom showing the route followed. Some 3 years on we revisited to investigate properly the transit from the temple to Nanshan, you can read elsewhere how we succeeded.

Please visit my Penang buses page for information on accessing the starting point.


I have previously described our two visits to the Cheng Kon Sze (Cheng Ji Chan), the direct assault from Paya Terubong and the long way round from Air Itam.

We actually again used the path up from Air Itam to the dam. Along the way, we passed by what looks like a chrysalis, what it will look like when it emerges I can't say. For completeness, I have included this notice about the dam which dates from the time of Penang's transition from colony to a state in the independent Malaya (now Malaysia).

This time we took the direct route up the road which leads to the transmission masts on top of Bukit Penara, which is a not unpleasant climb with shady trees but hardly exciting and there are no views to be had. Along the way there were the inevitable monkeys and a 'Lonesome George' which some idiot had decorated or maybe it was an abandoned unwanted pet. Just before the junction for the Cheng Kon Sze temple I noticed that the ridge trail in the direction of Air Itam had been cut back quite recently (probably at the same time as the path opposite down to the Balik Pulau Road).

We met the same pair of walkers we had done previously who seem to come here on a near daily basis. There are many worse places to relax in the afternoon.

This time we took the zig- zag forest trail down to the main temple from the cave temple above. There is a group of what we believe to be chocolate breasted bee eaters here who swoop around the temple grounds for insects.

It's a wonderfully relaxing area and the official excuse for the third visit was to look for the reported trail from here through to the area which I have described in the 'Garden in the Sky'. The concrete road continues beyond the temple car park, passing several properties which are marked for the 'Gotama Forest Buddhist Hermitage' with 'keep out' notices although only the one at the end of road appeared occupied. It was a large complex which seemed to have been built right over the original trail we were looking for. On a branch road above it was a house which seemed never to have been completed. On another road below was a pair of locked gates behind which may have been something similar.

On the way is another fine house which is no longer in use, this one even boasted a garden funicular below it, it was impossible to determine how far down it went. There is clearly an interesting story behind the situation in this area, a huge amount of money has been spent, most of it apparently totally wasted...

We ignored a last concrete road up towards Bukit Penara - our link trail would have been downhill and took 'the 1200 steps' down, they are easier on our knees than the steep motorbike paths. The annual pilgrimage here must be quite a sight, but we were left with a final Buddhist message:

Despite our disappointment at failing to find our required path, the best was yet to come...  Not only were there more than a few reject durians available, this wonderful 'little red job' was showing off next to the path, it seems to have a large insect in its beak. The camera has not captured the red well in the low light, it's actually a richer crimson colour. The expert (Andy Adcock) confirms it as a 'Scarlet Backed Flowerpecker'. 

So on this occasion at least there was no need to call by the local durian stall and we could head directly home.


Nanshan Highlands

Key:

 ____ = Concrete Road

 ____ = Path

 ____ = Easy 'Off piste'

 ____ = Seriously 'Off piste'

(Not all paths are shown, there are many more
which are seasonal or just go to houses.)

Click here for information on the maps.


Rob and Yuehong Dickinson

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk