Week 2, 2010 : Going back to nature

The plan for this second week of 'no, do not bring me into a mall' was to hike up a hill on Saturday, go on a movie date with The Boyfriend, wedding of a colleague at night followed by brunch with me me me! on Sunday, checking out a place I want to buy then a nice read at the park in the evening with a great book.

Well, I checked off everything except the little park picnic since it rained. Oh well, you can always plan but never know what fate might bring to you.


(The path I chose for a Saturday morning)

So on Saturday a friend of mine had invited a group of people for a sunrise hike. In typical style everyone was quite interested until they found out sunrise would mean getting up at 4:00 a.m. to meet.

Broga Hill is located in Broga, Semenyih. Its actually not that difficult to get to from KL, just take the North South highway all the way down to the Kajang exit. Keep left and head towards Semenyih. Keep on following all the signs until the highway exits to a T junction, follow the signs for Semenyih (Route 1) which means turning right at the junction. Keep on heading straight and you'll see a road sign on your left saying Broga junction 500m. At the next traffic light, turn left (even if its not really 500m in). Keep on driving straight until you pass Notthingham University on your left. Keep on going straight on that road until the highway lights end. Right at the end of the lights is a palm oil plantation on the left hand side. Park here. This is the entrance to Broga Hill. Want to be supr sure? on your right hand side will be a giant sign for Rabbit Fun Land.



Park in the plantation and there will be an entrance towards the back. The path itself is quite well defined and pretty easy to follow. There are a few points where the path will diverge. At the first point you will have two options, one that is very rocky and another thats just sandy. Follow the rocky path. Further up the path diverges again. Both paths lead to the top of the hill (I cant tell which is easier =))


(Sunrise on the peak)

The hike isnt that long, about 30-45 minutes or so. Of course, this depends on your level of fitness. Along the way, we noticed that a few people had thrown up. The thing is, the hike itself is not that difficult since its pretty well defined. However, it is very steep. My advice is to not rush going up. Really take it at your own pace and you should be ok. Try to rush it and yes, you will end up hurling your guts by the side of the hill.


(Sunrise from the peak)

I like the hike as the journey to the peak itself is pretty impressive. Youre not stuck in a forest with very little visibility like you would be on any other tropical hike. This hike has a lot of open air and a great view even as you make your way to the top. Once you reach the top, take in the great view. There may be ~40-50 people enjoying it with you.


(Number of people on Peak 1)

If you would like, you can keep on heading to other peaks. There are four hills in total. Getting to each one takes slighty more hiking. Between peak 1 and 2 its actually very very pleasant. Between peak 2 and 3 its a bit more challenging and between peak 3 and 4 I believe its even more challenging (though I wasnt able to see that path).


(Peak 3)


(Your view on the hike down)

In all, deff an enjoyable hike, and would be a lot of fun to do again =)


(View off Broga Hill 1)

Outfit recommendation : sneakers or regular shoes but with good traction. I just wore a pair of Nike mary-janes and did ok. Long pants, since the grass is quite long. Torchlight if you are planning on doing a sunrise hike. And water of course. Other than that, I guess common sense stuff. There werent any mosquitoes when I went but can spray yourself just in case, similarly bring a towel if you would like.