The International Steam Pages


Penang Hills and Trails - Western Area
Mens Sana in Corpore Sano


Click here for the Penang Hills and Trails index.
Click here for Penang Hills and Trails 2024 - Paradise Lost? (15th March 2024)
Click here for a guide to Penang's Peaks (16th March 2020)
Click here for Walks Listed by Starting Point.
Click here for the Top Ten Walks.
Click here for a list of further Selected Walks.
Click here for information on Rain Gauges
  and Catchment Areas (updated 27th January 2024).
Click here
for the introduction.
Click here for Penang's Rubber Heritage (updated 8th March 2024)
Plastic Pollution - An unacceptable way of marking trails (updated 12th February 2023)

Western Area

One important change is the withdrawal of the Rapid Penang 501 bus
service  between Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang, which means that 
many of the hikes it served are no longer accessible other than by car.

Click here to see maps for each of the following reports in turn, clicking the map will take you directly to the report concerned.

Bukit Kecil
(February 2013)
Pantai Acheh Descent
(February 2013)

Pantai Acheh Ascent
(February 2013)

The Secret Garden
(March 2013)
The Secret Garden Revisited
(updated 20th November 2016)
The Millionaire's Valley
(15th December 2015)
Sungai Pinang Horseshoe Part 2
(updated 17th December 2023)

Tiger Ridge Hike
(updated 17th December 2023)

Bukit Batu Itam
(2nd March 2016)

Sungai Pinang Fiasco
(7th December 2016)

Bukit Batu Itam Challenge
(25th December 2016)

Bukit Kecil Revisited
(27th December 2016)

Bukit Kecil Explorer
(7th January 2017)

Pantai Acheh Loop
(16th February 2017)

Woman on Top
(5th December 2017)
Let the Good Times Roll
(26th November 2017)
Bukit Kecil Loop
(9th December 2017)

Another Pantai Acheh Loop
(19th December 2017)

The Secret Garden Circular
(18th January 2018)
Yet Another Sungai Pinang Loop
(updated 17th December 2023)
Another Secret Garden Circular
(17th February 2018)
Christmas Day in the  Secret Garden
(25th December 2018)

Three Hills Challenge
(2nd January 2019)

Four Hills Challenge
(23rd January 2019)

CNY Amble
(5th February 2019)

Pantai Mas Challenge
(27th February 2019)
Reverse Pantai Mas Challenge
(17th March 2019)

Tanjung Gemuroh Explorer
(23rd February 2020)

Pantai Acheh Explorer 1
(28th February 2020)

Pantai Acheh Obsession
(1st March 2020)

Pantai Acheh Explorer 2
(6th March 2020)

The aim of these pages is to record our pleasure, encourage others to repeat or even improve the experience and provide sufficient information for locals and visitors to follow the trails from scratch. Hence, there are far too many pictures of junctions in concrete trails! These trails are best enjoyed in small groups of no more than half a dozen with eyes and ears wide open and mouths firmly shut. Several can be, and are, used by mountain bikers, but if you have a motorbike please leave it at home or park it at the start of the trail; definitely do not take it (as I have read on the web) on trails which are not sealed, they will rapidly degrade if abused in such a manner.


I strongly recommend using buses to get to the starting points and back from the end of these walks.
I have written a short guide to Penang's Buses for hikers (updated 6th October 2022).


Rob and Yuehong Dickinson

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk