Penang Hills and Trails - Bukit Penara Circular
Paths around Rain Gauge 34

This is one of a series of pages on walking the hills of Penang, click here for the index. This is a Grade 3 walk. There is a sketch map at the bottom showing the route followed. Click here for a list of the known PBA rain gauges.

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

Our normal dinner stop at Sungai Pinang opens 6 days a week, so we have 'Wednesday Walks' outside our normal areas. I believe we've only once climbed the road towards the Bukit Penara masts from the dam as long ago as November 2012 when we went on to Cheng Kon Sze (the Temple of the 1200 Steps). Later we visited Rain Gauge 34 (RG 34) just off it which was the main target today. I knew there were paths we had yet to explore in that area but was unsure how to get at them from the dam area. In fact it was very easy as we soon spotted these boards leading upward. Anticipating a less than structured day I had left my camera at home, hence it was Yuehong who was charged with keeping a record. The path was one of those which might best be described as 'well decorated' with plastic everywhere, it turned out that most of the paths we used today were popular with the totally environmentally unconscious species known as mountain bikers. In a few minutes we completed the initial climb.

We found ourselves at a familiar spot on the road that leads from Kek Lok Si up to Cheng Kon Sze. We poked our heads out and retreated back into the rain forest and started to climb up the ridge path.

There's nothing like telling the world that you are the shits who have no respect for nature. The 'Top of Penang Hill Race 3' was back in 2017 and we saw three more similar later. This is part of the Bukit Penana Forest Reserve, it seems the State Forestry Department here as elsewhere in the island doesn't greatly care about ensuring responsible use of the jungle tracks.

There were quite a few of these 'Top of Penang Hill Race 2' arrows and rather less detritus from the 'Ultimate Trails of Penang' 2018 and 2019 events.

As the climb eased we came to a clearing and found Rain Gauge 34 (RG 34), the 'modern half' was quite newly stencilled and appeared in use, I popped the top back on the old one. We continued up and some way before the road to the masts, we came to a junction. It was an easy decision to turn left as we hadn't used this path before, I don't recall it from our 2016 visit.

It was obviously well used by the bikers as there was little or no leaf litter or even sand. Well, they won't be down here for a while until they bring a chain saw to clear this blockage. On two feet as opposed to two wheels it was no problem and we quickly climbed over it. We carried on down to a T junction where we turned left and soon found ourselves once again on the road to Cheng Kon Sze.

At which point we turned back passing a white pick up and motor bike which had made their last journeys. It's a not totally unusual sight in Penang.

Back at the T-junction, the signs needed rearranging to reflect the reality of the blockage and we headed up the other path. Very soon, we came to a familiar point, this is where the path to Cheng Kon Sze from the Bukit Penara road climbs before dropping down to the temple.

Just round the corner is the turn off and on the opposite side of the road the path which leads to the col on the Air Itam Dam to Balik Pulau road.

This was blocked for a while after the 2017 storm but is now totally restored. The first half is in the rain forest, the second half is on the forest edge where the land to the south had been 'borrowed' by the farmers who have finally been forced off it. No doubt they will be back in a few years time but for the moment it's more than a bit of a mess, it would take many years to recover if left alone.

We now just had a gentle 3km walk back along the road to the dam, total time for the expedition being some 3 hours. Yuehong declared it a 'Gibby Walk' by which she meant it was suitable for gentlemen whose stamina is not what it used to be. Certainly anyone following it ought to throw in a visit to the delightful Cheng Kon Sze but in our case we've been there at least half a dozen times and the attractions of a cold Tiger and Ais Kacang in Air Itam were a greater attraction.